Seaweed

What is it?
Aquatic biomass such as seaweed is mainly comprised of polysaccharides, proteins and inorganic minerals. Unlike lignocellulosic biomass, seaweeds do generally not contain significant amounts of cellulose or lignin. Some seaweeds contain alginic acid (a polyuronic acid), fucoidan (a sulfated polyfucose), laminarin (a starch like molecule) and mannitol. Other seaweeds are rich in xylan.

What does it mean for the customer?
The sugars, proteins and minerals from seaweed can be used as feedstock for the production of chemicals, materials and fuels e.g. in a biorefinery.

What can ECN do for you?
ECN can characterise seaweed sugars and proteins by a variety of physico-chemical, biochemical and thermochemical methods, using state of the art analytical equipment and protocols. ECN can produce test samples of seaweed extracts for further conversion and/or application trials. ECN participates and offers specialised expertise in private partnerships, and in national and international biorefinery projects. Partners are the chemical industry, the agricultural and construction sector and research institutes and universities.

More information?
A general overview of ECN's biorefinery activities can be downloaded here.