Developments in the offshore seaweed feedstock bio-refinery model

19 Feb 2015

Graphical abstract green chem algae biorefinery The land use issues associated with biomass production points to marine biomass as a promising alternative. Seaweed is a rich resource, abundant in the world’s oceans. In addition to its potential for biofuel production, it is also important to obtain a stream of renewable chemicals from any seaweed bio-refinery to create an economically viable and sustainable process.

The present development, led by an Indian research team prominent in this field, creates a valuable side stream of chemical products to supplement the production of bio-ethanol from cellulose. Lipids, pigments and agar are all obtainable from the red algae feedstock by way of sequential extraction processes that improves the quality of the agar produced and significantly reduces the amount of auxiliary chemicals required compared to previous methods.