Levulinic Acid Production from Macroalgae: Production and Promising Potential in Industry

Maria Dyah Nur Meinita, Amron Amron, Agus Trianto, Dicky Harwanto, Wahyu Caesarendra, Gwi-Taek Jeong and Jae-Suk Choi
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Maria Dyah Nur Meinita: Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto 53123, Indonesia
Amron Amron: Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto 53123, Indonesia
Agus Trianto: Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
Dicky Harwanto: Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Diponegoro University, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
Wahyu Caesarendra: Faculty of Integrated Technologies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Bandar Seri Begawan 1410, Brunei
Gwi-Taek Jeong: Department of Biotechnology, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Korea
Jae-Suk Choi: Seafood Research Center, Industry Academy Cooperation Foundation (IACF), Silla University, Busan 49277, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: The development of macroalgal biorefinery products as an alternative source of renewable fuels is an opportunity to solve the dependence on fossil fuels. Macroalgae is a potential biomass that can be developed as a raw material for producing platform chemicals such as levulinic acid (LA). In the industrial sector, LA is among the top 12 biomass-derived feedstocks designated by the U.S. Department of Energy as a high-value chemical. Several studies have been conducted on the production of LA from terrestrial-based biomass, however, there is still limited information on its production from macroalgae. The advantages of macroalgae over terrestrial and other biomasses include high carbohydrate and biomass production, less cultivation cost, and low lignin content. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential and challenge of producing LA from macroalgae in the industrial sector and determine its advantages and disadvantages compared with terrestrial biomass in LA production. In this study, various literature sources were examined using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) method to identify, screen, and analyze the data of the published paper. Despite its advantages, there are some challenges in making the production of levulinic acid from macroalgae feasible for development at the industrial scale. Some challenges such as sustainability of macroalgae, the efficiency of pretreatment, and hydrolysis technology are often encountered during the production of levulinic acid from macroalgae on an industrial scale.

Keywords: levulinic acid; macroalgae; platform chemical; biomass; polysaccharide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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