Characterization of Nizimuddinia zanardini Macroalgae Biomass Composition and its Potential for Biofuel Production
Researchers from Iran have chemically characterized a macro algae Nizimuddinia zanardini, harvested from Persian Gulf, which is employed in the production of ethanol, seaweed extract, alginic acid and biogas. Biomass were pre-treated with dilute sulphuric acid and hot water. The pre-treated and untreated biomasses were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis.
The hydrolysates were further allowed to ferment under anaerobic condition, yielding 34.6g of ethanol per kg of the dried biomass. The seaweed extract containing mannitol and a solid residue containing alginic acid were the main by-products of the ethanol production. Besides having increased ethanol production, there was also increase in the yield of biogas from hot water pre-treated biomass.
