200
9 Laminarins
9.6.1 Cultivation of Brown Algae
Brown algae have been harvested for centuries in different parts of the world where it
has been used in food and agriculture and other uses. Among the brown algae, Laminaria has especially higher ability to extract minerals from polluted water and use
these as nutrients (Kim and Bhatnagar 2011). One main advantage of brown algae,
and algae in general, as a feedstock in biorefinery for the production of compounds
such as laminarin has the advantage of not requiring large land area for cultivation.
Algae also have a much higher productivity than land plants, and they can grow up to
83,000,000 tonnes per hectare annually, compared to land plants such as sugarcane
whose rate of growth are around 3–30,000,000 tonnes per hectare annually (Konda
et al. 2015). Therefore, the cultivation of brown algae is less demanding on the environment than traditional crops such as corn and cotton which also have commercial
applications.
9.6.2 Energy Consumption
One of the advantages of laminarin in terms of the extraction process is that highly
branched laminarin can be obtained at low temperature in cold water extraction process. Even the hot water extraction process required for the less branched laminarins
can be carried out at temperatures as low as 60 °C. Compared with other extraction
process where temperatures of ~90 °C are required.
When the algae needs to be cultivated in a closed system to maintain sterility,
artificial growth light and temperature and humidity control all required additional
energy consumption unlike where the brown algae is harvested from the wild. Where
laminarin is required for its bioactive properties such closed growth systems might
be required to meet regulatory standards.
9.6.3 Water Consumption
The relatively lower viscosity of laminarin compared to other higher molecular
weight polymers such as alginate has the advantage of requiring less water for washing and separation. Unlike in alginate extraction, for example, where a large amount
of water is added to reduce the viscosity in order to allow flow in filtration. The
process of cultivating brown algae for laminarin production does not use water in
the same way as used in the cultivation of land plants. The water used in aquaculture
for algae is often recycled, and in some cases, the algae are grown in a symbiotic
relationship with fish. Table 9.1 only considers the water used in the extraction process. This water is acidified with the addition of sulfuric acid, and it then needs to be
9 Laminarins
9.6.1 Cultivation of Brown Algae
Brown algae have been harvested for centuries in different parts of the world where it
has been used in food and agriculture and other uses. Among the brown algae, Laminaria has especially higher ability to extract minerals from polluted water and use
these as nutrients (Kim and Bhatnagar 2011). One main advantage of brown algae,
and algae in general, as a feedstock in biorefinery for the production of compounds
such as laminarin has the advantage of not requiring large land area for cultivation.
Algae also have a much higher productivity than land plants, and they can grow up to
83,000,000 tonnes per hectare annually, compared to land plants such as sugarcane
whose rate of growth are around 3–30,000,000 tonnes per hectare annually (Konda
et al. 2015). Therefore, the cultivation of brown algae is less demanding on the environment than traditional crops such as corn and cotton which also have commercial
applications.
9.6.2 Energy Consumption
One of the advantages of laminarin in terms of the extraction process is that highly
branched laminarin can be obtained at low temperature in cold water extraction process. Even the hot water extraction process required for the less branched laminarins
can be carried out at temperatures as low as 60 °C. Compared with other extraction
process where temperatures of ~90 °C are required.
When the algae needs to be cultivated in a closed system to maintain sterility,
artificial growth light and temperature and humidity control all required additional
energy consumption unlike where the brown algae is harvested from the wild. Where
laminarin is required for its bioactive properties such closed growth systems might
be required to meet regulatory standards.
9.6.3 Water Consumption
The relatively lower viscosity of laminarin compared to other higher molecular
weight polymers such as alginate has the advantage of requiring less water for washing and separation. Unlike in alginate extraction, for example, where a large amount
of water is added to reduce the viscosity in order to allow flow in filtration. The
process of cultivating brown algae for laminarin production does not use water in
the same way as used in the cultivation of land plants. The water used in aquaculture
for algae is often recycled, and in some cases, the algae are grown in a symbiotic
relationship with fish. Table 9.1 only considers the water used in the extraction process. This water is acidified with the addition of sulfuric acid, and it then needs to be