| 摘要 |
The present invention is directed to aquatic systems and methods for off-shore energy production, particularly to systems and methods for generating large amounts of methane via anaerobic digestion, purifying the methane produced, and sequestering environmentally deleterious by-products such as carbon dioxide. The energy production systems contain one or more flexible, inflatable containers supported by water, at least one of which is an anaerobic digester containing bacteria which can produce energy sources such as methane or hydrogen from aquatic plants or animals. Off-shore energy production facilities supported by water bodies offer many advantages over land-based digesters, including the use of large, available open water bodies as an alternative means of support and the potential for locating the facilities at sites that already contain, or can be easily modified to generate, sufficient amounts of feedstock onsite. In addition, the containers of the present invention can be large enough to provide adequate amounts of energy to support off-shore activities and relatively easy to manufacture and ship to remote production sites. The systems can also be readily adapted to sequester carbon dioxide or replenish feedstocks growing nutrients on site.
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