13.8 Applications of Aquatic-Sourced Starch
303
13.8 Applications of Aquatic-Sourced Starch
Applications of starch include textiles, food, biomedical, pharmaceutical and energy
industries. Here, we take a look at some recent developments in the application of
starch, where aquatic-sourced starch could play a particular role.
13.8.1 Third-Generation Biofuel Production
In terms of biomass for bioethanol production, duckweed takes the lead of all the
aquatic plants studied so far. With a starch composition of up to 64% and the ability
to grow to twice its size with 5–6 days, this aquatic mosquito fern is an attractive
source of bioethanol production. For this reason, it has generated a lot of research
interest, and this includes how to best optimize its growth to selectively boost the
rate of production of desired metabolites and making use of its water remediation
properties in the treatment of industrial waste. Duckweed is also used in the recovery
of nutrients from water.
Algae can be used to produce either bioethanol or biodiesel as they contain lipids,
starch and other polysaccharides. Recent studies have experimented with carbon
switching in algae to direct the metabolism of the fixed carbon toward either production of lipids or starch (Zhang et al. 2018). This is primarily achieved through
controlling the salinity of the water. This carbon switching occurs in both freshwater and marine algae. C. sorokiniana is one of the species which demonstrates this
property.
Starch from algae has gained increasing attention for its potential in serving as
the key to low-cost, low-impact and commercially profitable biofuel that is globally
available.
13.8.2 Bioplastic Production
One of the global problems facing the world today is pollution caused by the accumulation of non-biodegradable plastic. Between 2015 and 2017, an estimated of
6.3 billion tonnes of plastics have been accumulated in the ocean globally and that
number continues to increase at an annual rate of 10–20 million tonnes (Urbanek
et al. 2018). In the great pacific between California and Hawaii, 79 thousand tonnes
of plastics are accumulated covering an area of 1.6 million km
2 based on models
developed from the data collected from vessels and aircraft surveys (Lebreton et al.
2018). The approaches to addressing the plastic pollution problem include reducing the production and use of non-biodegradable plastics, reusing the plastics and
hence keeping them away from being accumulated in the environment as waste and
recycling the plastics into other long-lasting products and keeping them in use for
303
13.8 Applications of Aquatic-Sourced Starch
Applications of starch include textiles, food, biomedical, pharmaceutical and energy
industries. Here, we take a look at some recent developments in the application of
starch, where aquatic-sourced starch could play a particular role.
13.8.1 Third-Generation Biofuel Production
In terms of biomass for bioethanol production, duckweed takes the lead of all the
aquatic plants studied so far. With a starch composition of up to 64% and the ability
to grow to twice its size with 5–6 days, this aquatic mosquito fern is an attractive
source of bioethanol production. For this reason, it has generated a lot of research
interest, and this includes how to best optimize its growth to selectively boost the
rate of production of desired metabolites and making use of its water remediation
properties in the treatment of industrial waste. Duckweed is also used in the recovery
of nutrients from water.
Algae can be used to produce either bioethanol or biodiesel as they contain lipids,
starch and other polysaccharides. Recent studies have experimented with carbon
switching in algae to direct the metabolism of the fixed carbon toward either production of lipids or starch (Zhang et al. 2018). This is primarily achieved through
controlling the salinity of the water. This carbon switching occurs in both freshwater and marine algae. C. sorokiniana is one of the species which demonstrates this
property.
Starch from algae has gained increasing attention for its potential in serving as
the key to low-cost, low-impact and commercially profitable biofuel that is globally
available.
13.8.2 Bioplastic Production
One of the global problems facing the world today is pollution caused by the accumulation of non-biodegradable plastic. Between 2015 and 2017, an estimated of
6.3 billion tonnes of plastics have been accumulated in the ocean globally and that
number continues to increase at an annual rate of 10–20 million tonnes (Urbanek
et al. 2018). In the great pacific between California and Hawaii, 79 thousand tonnes
of plastics are accumulated covering an area of 1.6 million km
2 based on models
developed from the data collected from vessels and aircraft surveys (Lebreton et al.
2018). The approaches to addressing the plastic pollution problem include reducing the production and use of non-biodegradable plastics, reusing the plastics and
hence keeping them away from being accumulated in the environment as waste and
recycling the plastics into other long-lasting products and keeping them in use for