Biochemical composition of red, green and brown seaweeds on the Swedish west coast
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Biochemical composition of red, green and brown seaweeds on the Swedish west coast Joakim Olsson 1
&
Gunilla B. Toth 2
&
Eva Albers 1
Received: 23 December 2019 / Revised and accepted: 30 April 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Seaweed biomass has the potential to become an important raw material for bio-based production. The aim of this study was to screen the overall composition of several seaweed species on the Swedish west coast, including some scarcely studied species, to provide fundamentals for evaluation of biorefining potential and to benchmark with already potentially industrially relevant species and commercially important land-based biomasses. Twenty-two common seaweed species (green, red, brown) were collected and the carbohydrate, ash, protein, water and metal contents were measured. Carbohydrate content varied between 237 and 557 g kg−1 dry weight (dw), making it the largest constituent, on a dry weight basis, of most species in the study. Ash, which is considered unwanted in biorefining, ranged between 118 and 419 g kg−1 dw and was the largest constituent in several seaweeds, which were therefore considered unsuitable for biorefining. Protein content was most abundant in the red seaweeds but was generally low in all species (59–201 g kg−1 dw). High contents of several unwanted metals for processing or human consumption were found (e.g. aluminium, arsenic, copper, chromium and nickel), which need to be considered when utilizing seaweeds for certain applications. Potential targets for further biorefinery development mostly include species already known for their potential (Saccharina latissima, Laminaria digitata and Chondrus crispus) while some, such as Halidrys siliquosa and Dilsea carnosa, have not been previously noted. However, more detailed studies are required to explore biorefinery processes for these seaweeds, as well as how to potentially cultivate them. Keywords Seaweeds . Biorefinery . Biochemical composition . Water content . Metals
Introduction For a sustainable future, a transition to using biomass instead of fossil oil to produce fuels, chemicals, commodities and energy carriers is essential. Lately, interest has risen to utilise marine macroalgae (seaweeds) in biorefineries as it could provide biomass for bioenergy, as well as high-value products, with limited competition with food production (Jung et al. 2013; van Hal et al. 2014). In 2015, 29 million tonnes of seaweeds were cultured commercially (FAO 2015), mainly in Asia for utilisation as food and hydrocolloid production. Currently, only about 20
* Eva Albers [email protected] 1
Dept. of Biology and Biological Engineering - Industrial Biotechnology, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
2
Dept. of Marine Sciences – Tjärnö, University of Gothenburg, SE-452 96 Strömstad, Sweden
out of over 10,000 known seaweed species are cultivated (FAO 2015; Guiry and Guiry 2018), and overall knowledge on the biochemical composition of most seaweed species is lacking. Additionally, studies have shown significa
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