Rugulopteryx okamurae: Effect of hydrothermal acid pretreatment on the saccharification process

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2023-11, Vol.388, p.129721-129721, Article 129721
• Main Authors: Romero-Vargas, Agustín, Fdez-Güelfo, Luis Alberto, Blandino, Ana, Díaz, Manuel J., Díaz, Ana Belén
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Combined severity factor; Dietary fibre; Enzyme hydrolysis; Macroalga; Reducing sugar
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129721

•Hydrolysable polysaccharide fraction in R. okamurae was enriched up to 13.6%.•Up to 49.2% more reducing sugars was achieved with the pretreatment of the alga.•Almost 25 g/L reducing sugars were achieved in the hydrolysates.•IDFc is the most important for the release of fermentable monosaccharides.•The severity factor allowed to find the optimal conditions (0.2 N HCl and 15 min). The biological invasion caused by the invasive macroalga Rugulopteryx okamurae is causing increasing concern in southern Europe. To reduce its impact, this brown alga can be treated from a biorefinery approach. In this study, the macroalga is used as raw material to obtain fermentable sugars, which can be converted into high value-added products. The alga was exposed to hydrothermal and hydrothermal acid pretreatment and the pretreated biomass was used for enzymatic hydrolysis, achieving a hydrolysate with a reducing sugar concentration of almost 25 g/L (49.2% more than with non-pretreated alga). In addition, the combined severity factor was calculated to identify the best pretreatment conditions, finding the optimum in those pretreatments performed with 0.2 N HCl concentration and 15 min reaction time. Based on the results, it would be interesting to carry out new studies using the saccharified medium obtained under optimal conditions to obtain value-added compounds by fermentation.