Analysis of Seaweed Samples at Celignis
Background
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.
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.
Carbohydrate Composition of Brown Seawed
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
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.
Carbohydrate Composition of Red Seawed
Carbohydrate Composition of Green Seawed
Analysis package P71 - Seaweed Carbohydrates will give contents for the neutral sugars glucose, xylose, mannose, arabinose, and galactose, as well as the deoxy sugars fucose and rhamnose, the sugar alcohol mannitol, and the uronic acids mannuronic acid, guluronic acid, glucuronic acid, and galacturonic acid.
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.
Lignin (Klason), Lignin (Acid Soluble), Acid Insoluble Residue, Ash (Acid Insoluble),
Glucuronic Acid, Galacturonic Acid, Mannuronic Acid, Guluronic Acid, 4-O-Methyl-D-Glucuronic Acid,
Total Sugars in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Glucose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Xylose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Arabinose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Mannose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Galactose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Rhamnose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Cellobiose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Enzymatic Hydrolysis Kinetics, Cellulose Conversion Yield, Xylan Conversion Yield, Combined Sugar Yield, Cellulose Conversion Rate, Xylan Conversion Rate,
As P121 plus comparisons with data from the non-pretreated original sample, including: Increase in Cellulose Accessibility after Pre-Treatment, Percent Increase in Cellulose Conversion Efficiency, Percent Increase in Cellulose Conversion Rate.
As P9 but on the solid residue after enzymatic hydrolysis.
Formic Acid, Acetic Acid, Levulinic Acid, Furfural, Hydroxymethylfurfural,
Includes all hydrolysate sugars and kinetics in P121 and: Cellulose Conversion Yield, Cellulose Conversion Rate
Includes all hydrolysate sugars and kinetics in P121 and: Xylan Conversion Yield, Xylan Conversion Rate
Total Sugars in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Glucose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, Maltose in Enzyme Hydrolysate, a-Amylase Hydrolysis Kinetics, Glucoamylase Hydrolysis Kinetics,
Glucose, Xylose, Fructose, Sucrose, Mannose, Arabinose, Galactose, Rhamnose, Xylitol, Sorbitol, Trehalose, Mannitol, Arabinitol, Glycerol, Raffinose,
Fucose, Mannitol, Glucose, Xylose, Mannose, Arabinose, Galactose, Rhamnose, Total Sugars, Glucuronic Acid, Galacturonic Acid, Mannuronic Acid, Guluronic Acid,
Chlorophyll-a, Chlorophyll-b, Lutein, beta-Carotene, Neoxanthin, Astaxanthin, Zeaxanthin,
Biomethane Potential (BMP), Total Biogas Volume, Total Solids, Volatile Solids, pH, Biogas Methane Content, Biogas Carbon Dioxide Content, Biogas Oxygen Content, Biogas Hydrogen Sulphide Content, Biogas Ammonia Content,
Total Solids, Volatile Solids, pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Phosphorus, Potassium, Ammonia, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulphur,
Levoglucosan, Cellobiosan, Mannosan, Galactosan, Glucose, Xylose, Mannose, Arabinose, Galactose, Rhamnose, Fucose, Sucrose, Cellobiose, Total Sugars,
31 constituents including Phenol, Furfural, Syringol, and Vanillin
Gross Calorific Value, Net Calorific Value, Ash, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Oxygen,
Aluminium, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Silicon, Sodium, Titanium,
Antimony, Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Lead, Manganese, Mercury, Molybdenum, Nickel, Vanadium, Zinc,
Volatile Matter, Fixed Carbon, Moisture, Ash, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Oxygen, Gross Calorific Value, Net Calorific Value, Chlorine,
Ash Shrinkage Starting Temperature (Oxidising), Ash Deformation Temperature (Oxidising), Ash Hemisphere Temperature (Oxidising), Ash Flow Temperature (Oxidising),
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We are looking for someone to join the Celignis team and spearhead our growth and expansion into new markets and territories.
The position has a salary of €69.5k for one year, plus €20k of training and €3.5k in relocation funds.
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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.
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and innovation in the provision (production, pre-processing) of biomass for the Bio-Based Industry (BBI).
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