Biosugar production from marine algae Kappaphycus alvarezii by acid hydrolysis

Abstract

Marine algae are a promising alternative feedstock for biosugar production since they are rich in carbohydrate content, do not compete with food crops for land, and are fast growing. This study used the marine algae Kappaphycus alvarezii as feedstock to produce biosugar. In order to convert the algal biomass to biosugar, hydrolysis is needed to breakdown the complex structure of the lignocellulosic material in the algal tissues. In this study, the hydrolysis process was performed using different acid concentration (H2SO4 0.1-0.3 M); different concentrations of the alga (0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%); and different reaction times (0-120 min). The results showed that that the highest biosugar yield was obtained at an algal concentration of 0.5% and an acid concentration of 0.1 M, yielding a sugar content of 0.54 g sugar/g dry biomass. These results indicate that acid hydrolysis is a promising method for economic biosugar production from marine algae.

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