SIST EN 17480:2021

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN 17480:2021
01-oktober-2021
Alge in izdelki iz alg - Metode za določanje produktivnosti rastišč alg
Algae and algae products - Methods for the determination of productivity of algae growth
sites
Algen und Algenprodukte - Methoden zur Bestimmung der Produktivität von
Algenwachstumsstandorten
Algues et produits à base d’algues - Méthodes de détermination de la productivité des
sites de croissance d’algues
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 17480:2021
ICS:
13.020.55 Biološki izdelki Biobased products
SIST EN 17480:2021 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST EN 17480:2021

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SIST EN 17480:2021


EN 17480
EUROPEAN STANDARD

NORME EUROPÉENNE

August 2021
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 13.020.55
English Version

Algae and algae products - Methods for the determination
of productivity of algae growth sites
Algues et produits à base d'algues - Méthodes de Algen und Algenprodukte - Methoden für die
détermination de la productivité des sites de Bestimmung der Produktivität von
croissance d'algues Algenwachstumsstellen
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 4 July 2021.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.





EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2021 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 17480:2021 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

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SIST EN 17480:2021
EN 17480:2021 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Productivity . 8
4.1 Parameters specific to algae productivity . 8
4.1.1 Area aspect . 8
4.1.2 Time references . 10
4.1.3 Biomass dry weight and ash content . 11
4.2 Area Productivity . 11
4.2.1 General . 11
4.2.2 Calculation of area productivity . 11
4.2.3 Example of area productivity calculation and notation . 13
4.3 Volumetric Productivity . 14
4.3.1 General . 14
4.3.2 Calculation of volumetric productivity . 14
4.3.3 Example of volumetric productivity calculation and notation . 16
Bibliography . 17

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SIST EN 17480:2021
EN 17480:2021 (E)
European foreword
This document (EN 17480:2021) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 454 “Algae and
algae products”, the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2022, and conflicting national standards shall
be withdrawn at the latest by February 2022.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North
Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United
Kingdom.

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SIST EN 17480:2021
EN 17480:2021 (E)
Introduction
This document has been prepared by the experts of CEN/TC 454 “Algae and algae products”.
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) was requested by the European Commission (EC) to
draft European standards or European standardization deliverables to support the implementation of
Article 3 of Directive 2009/28/EC for algae and algae-based products or intermediates.
This request, presented as Mandate M/547, also contributes to the Communication on “Innovating for
Sustainable Growth: A Bio economy for Europe”.
The former working group CEN Technical Board Working Group 218 “Algae”, was created in 2016 to
develop a work programme as part of this Mandate. The technical committee CEN/TC 454 “Algae and
algae products” was established to carry out the work programme that will prepare a series of standards.
The interest in algae and algae-based products or intermediates has increased significantly in Europe as
a valuable source, including but not limited to carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and several pigments.
These materials are suitable for use in a wide range of applications from food and feed purposes to other
sectors, such as textile, cosmetics, biopolymers, biofuel and fertilizer/biostimulants. Standardization was
identified as having an important role in promoting the use of algae and algae products.
The work of CEN/TC 454 should improve the reliability of the supply chain, thereby improving the
confidence of industry and consumers in algae, which include macroalgae, microalgae, cyanobacteria,
Labyrinthulomycetes, algae-based products or intermediates and will promote and support
commercialisation of the European algae industry.
In industry and science many different measures for productivity can be found. This makes comparison
unrealistic.
The goal of this document is to allow for a comparison between productivity of different algae growth
sites.
The reasons to compare algae growth sites can be different. For example, there might be the interest to
invest in a cultivation unit or to invest in a company which produces algae. Or there might be
sustainability issues and life-cycle-analysis (LCA) which need to rely on a common way to calculate the
productivity and thereby the area.
With EN ISO 14040 and EN ISO 14044 complete standards on LCA and sustainability for algae already
exist. The parameter which is not clearly defined in these standards is the accounting of the productivity
area (or volume) of algae growth sites. The way the area is calculated can have a huge impact on the
productivity per area. Because of this, a great part of this document is on the definition of area. The
challenge of defining the area lies in the diversity of cultivation units and the impact of their configuration
on the ground area. As the goal of the area definition is to be applicable for all kinds of algae production
techniques and cultivation units (e.g. ropes and ponds), the production under sunlight in cultivation units
forms the basis (see Figure 1) to calculate productivity. The service and utility areas are not integrated in
the area calculation, but will be accounted for in the cultivation unit area.
With regard to non-horizontal cultivation units (e.g. bubble columns, tubular photobioreactors and
green-wall panels) every system has a different total direct solar area in a different ratio to the ground
area of the cultivation unit, therefore the volumetric productivity formula should apply (see Figure 1).
A flowchart is provided to estimate if it is possible to utilize the general area definition of this document.
In comparison to land-based agriculture, the productivity of algae growth sites can be defined over
several time periods. This allows to calculate productivity of algae growth sites also over periods which
are less than one year.
Whenever possible, for comparability reasons, it is advisable to use the achieved production data to
calculate the productivity for every time period that is defined in this document.
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EN 17480:2021 (E)
The specification of the area in a wild growth site where macroalgae are growing in nature without
human interference, except when harvesting, is misleading for the calculation of productivity as many
factors influence the growth (e.g. currents, mixture of species, natural regeneration cycles, etc.). For an
investigation on the productivity and its sustainability of an aquatic ecosystem an area estimation is
possible, but this exceeds the scope of this document.

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SIST EN 17480:2021
EN 17480:2021 (E)
1 Scope
This document specifies the methods to be used for the determination of productivity of algae growth
sites.
This document excludes methods for sampling, harvesting and pre-/postprocessing. Excluded as well is
“wild growth”, which is defined as algae growing in nature without human interference except when
harvesting the algae.
2 Normative references
The following document is referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 17399, Algae and algae products — Terms and definitions
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions in EN 17399 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
3.1
cultivation
process of maintaining, growing and harvesting algae
3.2
controlled growth
algae growing in (partly) controlled conditions
3.3
wild growth
algae growing in nature without human interference except when harvesting the algae
3.4
cultivation unit
equipment for cultivating algae, e.g. photobioreactors, open ponds or longlines
3.5
natural basin
enclosed or sheltered area of water in nature in which algae are cultivated
3.6
natural site
area of open water in nature where algae are cultivated
3.7
insolate
expose to sunlight
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SIST EN 17480:2021
EN 17480:2021 (E)
3.8
algae growth site
area of a single or multiple algae cultivation unit(s) or natural sites
3.9
production area
insolated horizontal surface of the culture medium
Note 1 to entry: The production area of non-horizontal systems could result in multi-interpretable outcomes,
therefore non-horizontal systems use the volume productivity formula to calculate productivity.
Note 2 to entry: Wild growth areas are excluded.
3.10
cultivation unit area
area occupied by the cultivation unit, including equipment needed to operate the unit and service area
Note 1 to entry: The equipment is considered to be tubing and connections necessary for the specific cultivation
unit to function, e.g. the area occupied by the pumps and recirculating reservoir/ degasser in a tubular
photobioreactor or to fixate a macroalgae cultivation unit in the sea.
Note 2 to entry: Cultivation unit area does not include equipment upstream and downstream of the cultivation
unit, e.g. the reservoirs for water preparation and/or harvesting.
Note 3 to entry: Service area is considered to be the area necessary for the operation of the cultivation unit,
including paths needed for inspection, cleaning and maintenance.
3.11
productivity
quantity of algae produced or harvested during a specified period of time and over a specified area or
volume
3.12
peak productivity
indicates the maximum productivity obtained in a certain period of time
3.13
yearly productivity
indicates the average productivity obtained during one year
3.14
net productivity
indicates the average productivity obtained during the operative time
3.15
ope
...