In recent years there has been a significant interest in the potential for using seaweed (or macroalgal biomass) for the production of energy, biofuels, and chemicals
through a biorefining approach. This is for a number of reasons.
Firstly, since seaweed is an aquatic biomass, its utilisation does not cause food-vs-fuel
or land-use conflicts,
both of which can occur when land or biomass which could be used for food production is instead used for energy. Also, since seaweed is a fast growing feedstock that does not
an existing resource that can be potentially harvested over several harvest cycles over the year in numerous locations around the world, it is an abundant existing biomass resource
that can make a significant contribution to the bioeconomy and targets regarding bioenergy, biofuels, and bio-products.
Additionally, the chemistry of seaweed constituents offer the
potential to extract numerous high value chemicals many of which could not be sourced from lignocellulosic biomass.
Seaweed Composition
Seaweed composition differs greatly from that of lignocellulosic biomass. For instance, while lignin forms a significant proportion of
lignocellulose, it is absent in seaweed. The other two constituents of lignocellulose are cellulose and hemicellulose, however in seaweed hemicellulose is also absent and, whilst
cellulose can be present in
much smaller amounts, different polysaccharides predominate.
In many of these polysaccharides, sugars that are not present in lignocellulose, or are only present in small amounts,
are present in significant quantities. For example, uronic acids are much more prevalent in seaweed, including
mannuronic acid and guluronic acid which are absent from most lignocellulosic biomasss. The deoxy sugars
fucose and rhamnose are also much more prevalent in seaweed, as is the sugar alcohol
mannitol.
In addition to being significantly different from lignocellulose, the chemistry of seaweeds can also vary greatly between different species. Seaweeds are classed
into three main groups (brown (Phaeophyceae), red (Rhodophyceae), and green (Chlorophyceae)) and there are characteristic differences between each type.
Analysis of Brown Seaweed
Brown seaweeds have been particularly focussed on in recent years as potential biorefinery feedstocks. Laminaria digitata and Saccharina latissima
are examples of brown seaweeds.
Laminarin is one of the polysaccharides found in brown seaweeds. It functions
primarily as a carbohydrate reserve and consists of
a mainchain of glucose with some side chains, also of glucose. The degree of polymerisation of this polysaccharide is around 25, with either mannitol
or glucose as the terminal sugar. Mannitol is also another important cabrohydrate reserve in brown seaweeds.
Fucoidans are another major polysaccharide in brown seaweed. They consist of a backbone of sulphated fucose with additional substitutions
involving galactose and acetate.
Alginic acid is a brown seaweed polysaccharide that contain boths guluronic acid and mannuronic acid
in linear chains with the relative proportions of
mannuronic acid to guluronic acid varying from ratios of 1.2 to 2.1 or greater. Within this linear chain
these hexuronic acids tend to be arranged in C5 epimer blocks of one or the other, although less crystalline blocks involving both sugars can also be present.
Cellulose is only present in minor amounds in brown seaweeds.
Other Constituents and Seasonality in Brown Seaweed
Ash can be a major constituent in brown seaweeds, reaching levels of over 35% in some cases. Protein can also be an important mass component.
It is important to note that the composition of brown seaweed can vary substantially according to species and season. For instance, laminarin can be in concentrations of less than 1%
or over 30%, depending on the season. Similarly, the amount of mannitol can vary by an order of magnitude, whilst alginate can be less than 20% or more than 40%, depending on the
season. Due to this great variation in composition we strongly recommend that samples are analysed directly, for instance with one of our seaweed analysis packages, rather than
using data from the literature.
Analysis of Red Seaweed
Examples of red seaweeds include Kapphaphycus alvarezii, Gracilaria salicornia, and Gelidium amansii.
In red seaweeds the main polysaccharides are agar, carrageenan, cellulose, and mannan. Agar is a mixture of agarose, the major component, and agaropectin. Agarose is a linear
polysaccharide that consists of a backbone of galactose and 3,6-anhydro-galactose, with these two sugars existing as a repeating disaccharide unit. Carrgeenan
also contains these two sugars but they can exist in sulphated and non-sulphated forms. There are different classes of carrageenans and these differ according to the
number and position of the sulphate groups. Mannan is a polysaccharide of mannose and can be sulphated in some cases.
Analysis of Green Seaweed
Examples of green seaweeds include Ulva lactuca and Ulva pertusa.
In green seaweeds the main polysaccharides are cellulose, ulvan, and mannan. The main constituents of ulvan are rhamnose,
xylose, and
glucuronic acid.
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Analysis of Seaweed at Celignis
Our expertise with ion chromatography has allowed us to develop protocols for determining the carbohydrate
and amino acids composition of brown seaweeds.
Analysis package P72 - Seaweed Amino Acids will give the amounts of 12 different amino acids present in seaweed samples.
While these analyses packages are tailored towards the analysis of brown seaweeds we can also analyse red and green seaweeds. Please get in touch if you would like
to find the value of these types of macroalgae.
We are looking for top-class applicants to develop bioprocessing IP at Celignis
We are pleased to announce that we have been selected to be awarded funding, through the Horizon 2020 Innosup Innovation Associate programme, to recruit a top-class person to lead the development of our bioprocess concept into a patentable process and prototype product with clear commercial potential.
The SAPHIRE (Self-Assembling Plant-based Hydrogels Induced by Redox Enzymes) project focuses on the production of environmentally-friendly, 100% plant-based, superior-quality hydrogels for food,
cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications.
The position has a salary of €69.5k for one year, plus €20k of training and €3.5k in relocation funds.
Please click here for further information on the position and how to apply.
Celignis Collaborating with Ibiocat on Biorefinery Solutions
Illinois-based Ibiocat, was founded by Charles Abbas, a leading light for over 40 years in biorefining.
Illinois-based Ibiocat, founded by Charles A. Abbas, and Ireland-based analytical provider Celignis, founded by Dan Hayes, have come together to develop bespoke bioeconomy solutions for clients that are looking to add value to their process residues generated from 1G and 2G ethanol plants.
Click here to read more about this exciting collaboration and here to download a promotional flyer.
We're Hosting a Review Meeting of H2020 Project ENABLING
The 2 day event will see all 16 partners of the ENABLING project discuss the progress to date.
This two-day event will see all 16 project partners discuss the progress made in the first 18 months of our Horizon 2020 project ENABLING and make plans for the activities to be undertaken in the second half of the project.
The focus of the project is on supporting the spreading of best practices and innovation in the provision (production, pre-processing) of biomass for the Bio-Based Industry (BBI).
Details the latests activities and findings of the ENABLING project
We are happy to announce that the 4th newsletter of the ENABLING project has been released.
ENABLING is a coordinating and supporting action funded by the H2020-RUR-2017-1 call of the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme.
The title of the project is an acronym that stands for 'Enhance New Approaches in BioBased Local Innovation Networks for Growth'. The focus of the project is on supporting the spreading of best practices
and innovation in the provision (production, pre-processing) of biomass for the Bio-Based Industry (BBI).
Celignis will play a key role in the project with regards to stressing the importance of biomass composition in terms of evaluating feedstock and technology suitability.
Over the course of the project we will also be contacting a number of stakeholders, both in Ireland and overseas, and will be involved in the organisation of a number of networking events.
Thanks for contacting us. One of our representatives will be in contact with you shortly regarding your inquiry. If you ever have any questions that require immediate assistance, please call us at +353 61 371 725.
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