Project description
Optimising saccharification and fermentation technologies, valorising macroalgae blooms
Uncontrolled macroalgal blooms are on the rise, partly due to the increased eutrophication of the marine environment caused by anthropomorphic industrial and agricultural activities. The green opportunistic macroalgae genus Ulva thrives in such conditions accounting for over half of global blooms. While environmental and economic problems are associated with these blooms, the biomass generated could be economically rewarding if utilised appropriately. The EU-funded MACSSFT project will develop a suitable technology to saccharify both ulvan and cellulose from the biomass and ferment all monosaccharides present in the hydrolysate to value-added products. Novel and commercial enzymes will be trialled for saccharification and fermentation optimised to minimise resource inputs and generate minimum waste streams. The developed process could be used industrially.
Objective
Uncontrolled macroalgal blooms, also known as green or golden tides, is an increasingly frequent global phenomenon and is partly attributed to the increased eutrophication of the marine environment caused by anthropomorphic industrial and agricultural activities. The green opportunistic macroalgae genus Ulva thrives in such conditions and accounts for more than half of global blooms. Various environmental and economic problems have been associated with the occurrence of such blooms; however, if utilised appropriately, the biomass generated from these tides has the potential to be economically rewarding. Ulva spp. have an interesting chemical composition that is predominated by carbohydrates (≤65% dry weight), followed by proteins and lipids. Ulvan, a sulphated polysaccharide consisting of rhamnose, glucuronic acid, iduronic acid and xylose, is the predominant molecule, followed by cellulose. Contemporary research has focused on exploiting the cellulose fraction only, with ulvan, consisting of unique monosaccharides, being overlooked due to the unavailability of suitable saccharification enzymes. Although work on the saccharification of ulvan is gaining momentum, the complete enzymatic breakdown is still a bottleneck. Similarly, the unique monosaccharide composition of ulvan has not been explored to its full potential for fermentation to value-added products.
This project, therefore, aims to develop a suitable technology to saccharify both ulvan and cellulose from the biomass and ferment all the monosaccharides present in the hydrolysate to value-added products. Novel and commercial enzymes would be identified and trialled in individual processes for saccharification and fermentation first; with a simultaneous process subsequently optimised to minimise resource inputs and generate minimum waste streams. The developed process would finally be evaluated at a pilot scale to demonstrate its potential to be implemented at the industrial level.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
SY23 3BF Aberystwyth
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.