Title:
Seaweeds from Black Sea Coast - Promising Feedstock in the Production of Added-value Products in a Model Integrated Biorefinery
Author(s):
Bartha, S., Martins, P.L., Oliveira, C., Carvalheiro, F., Duarte, L.C., Antal, N.
Document(s):
Paper
Slide presentation
Abstract:
Global warming can putatively increase algal blooms, and the Black Sea is deemed especially vulnerable to this phenomenon. Therefore, a practical solution to minimize drawbacks and exploit these recurrent biomass bounties are needed. Seaweed-based biorefineries are considered as one of the key choices. This work aims to develop and compare the use of cultivated (Ulva lactuca) and bloom-derived seaweed for the simultaneous production of three complementary products: i) added value compounds (for the pharma, cosmetics, and/or food/feed industries), ii) biofuels (biogas), and iii) fertilizers (digestate). The structural chemical characterization of both samples yielded comparable results. Mild hydrothermal (=90.) was used for selectively recover the seaweed’s sulfonated polysaccharides. The extraction yields ranged from 9.5 to 18 % (dry basis), following a direct relation with temperature. Anaerobic digestion of the remaining biomass was carried at mesophilic conditions and resulted in a methane yield of about 250 litres CH4/kg treated biomass (minimum of 51.5% methane). The proposed valorisation strategy can be effectively applied both to the cultivated and naturally (bloom) collected samples, which is a clear advantage for the design of a small-scale integrated biorefinery based on cultivated seaweed, having the ability to process the unpredictable algal blooms.
Keywords:
anaerobic digestion, biogas, macroalgae, algal blooms, biomass pretreatment
Topic:
Sustainable Resources for Decarbonising the Economy
Subtopic:
Algae and aquatic biomass production systems
Event:
31st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
1BO.13.4
Pages:
68 - 73
ISBN:
978-88-89407-23-3
Paper DOI:
10.5071/31stEUBCE2023-1BO.13.4
Price:
FREE
