Biorefinery of the macroalgae Ulva lactuca: extraction of proteins and carbohydrates by mild disintegration

• Published in: Journal of applied phycology 2018-04, Vol.30 (2), p.1281-1293
• Main Authors: Postma, P. R., Cerezo-Chinarro, O., Akkerman, R. J., Olivieri, G., Wijffels, R. H., Brandenburg, W. A., Eppink, M. H. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Aquatic plants; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biorefineries; Carbohydrates; Cell size; Disintegration; Ecology; Electric field; Electric field strength; Electric fields; Enzymes; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; High shear homogenization; Homogenization; Incubation period; Life Sciences; Macroalgae; Macrostructure; Optimization; Osmotic shock; Pectinase; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Protein; Proteins; Pulsed electric field; Seaweeds; Shear; Size reduction; Ulva lactuca
• ISSN: 0921-8971; 1573-5176
• DOI: 10.1007/s10811-017-1319-8

The effect of osmotic shock, enzymatic incubation, pulsed electric field, and high shear homogenization on the release of water-soluble proteins and carbohydrates from the green alga Ulva lactuca was investigated in this screening study. For osmotic shock, both temperature and incubation time had a significant influence on the release with an optimum at 30 °C for 24 h of incubation. For enzymatic incubation, pectinase demonstrated being the most promising enzyme for both protein and carbohydrate release. Pulsed electric field treatment was most optimal at an electric field strength of 7.5 kV cm −1 with 0.05 ms pulses and a specific energy input relative to the released protein as low as 6.6 kWh kg prot −1 . Regarding literature, this study reported the highest protein (~ 39%) and carbohydrate (~ 51%) yields of the four technologies using high shear homogenization. Additionally, an energy reduction up to 86% was achieved by applying a novel two-phase (macrostructure size reduction and cell disintegration) technique.