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Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Caulerpa prolifera and Gracilaria gracilis from the Nador Lagoon: Evaluation of Biogas Production Potential

Ikram Yousfi, Rachid Benkaddour, Faycal Fatah, Safa Fatima, Ouahid El Asri

Abstract


The growing global energy demand, depletion of fossil fuel reserves, and escalating impacts of climate change highlight the urgent need for alternative renewable energy sources. In this context, the present study investigates the potential of biogas production from the co-digestion of two marine macroalgae, Caulerpa prolifera and Gracilaria gracilis, which are naturally abundant and renewable in Morocco’s Mediterranean Marchica Lagoon. Beyond conventional mono-digestion approaches, which are generally less exploited for marine macroalgae and often limited by process instability, this study demonstrates that combining algal substrates can induce synergistic or antagonistic interactions that strongly influence process performance, leading to enhanced biogas yield and improved process stability when appropriate mixing ratios are applied. Three co-digestion tests (T1, T2, and T3) were conducted with varying substrate proportions (25–75%) to assess the influence of algal composition on biogas yield and process stability. The mixture dominated by Caulerpa (75%, T1) produced the highest biogas yield (78 mL/gVS) and showed minimal digester acidification, whereas the test with a higher Gracilaria content (T3) resulted in reduced biogas production and process inhibition. The balanced mixture (T2) displayed intermediate performance and moderate acidification. These results reveal a dual interaction between the two algae: Caulerpa exerts an antagonistic effect on Gracilaria co-digestion, while Gracilaria enhances Caulerpa digestion efficiency. Overall, the study demonstrates that optimizing substrate ratios in algal co-digestion can significantly improve biogas production, providing a sustainable approach to energy recovery from local marine biomass and supporting the renewable energy transition in coastal regions.

Keywords



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DOI: 10.14416/j.asep.2026.06.010

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