The potential production of biofuel from Sargassum sp.: turning the waste catastrophe into an opportunity

Abstract

This study employs the potential for biofuel production from Sargassum sp. (macroalgae) addressing the environmental challenges it poses to coastal communities worldwide. Sargassum, obtained from seawater as waste presents a promising feedstock with 4–64% carbohydrate and 0.5 – 3.9% lipid content, making it a promising source for bioethanol and biodiesel production. The research investigates the impact of concentration, pH, temperature, and fermentation time on bioethanol quantity and assesses extractive procedures and solvents for biodiesel production . The Anthrone method was used to quantify and evaluate reducing sugars in acid hydrolysates at varying concentrations (0.09, 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 M). Biodiesel production involved Soxhlet extraction and cold maceration with different solvents (hexane, petroleum ether, dichloromethane, and diethyl ether), followed by transesterification using methanol and sodium hydroxide at 60 °C for 30 min. The descending order of biodiesel yield for the solvents after the transesterification process was diethyl ether, dichloromethane, hexane, and petroleum ether, for both methods. The biodiesel was characterized by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS), Kinematic viscosity, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy while the produced bioethanol was evaluated using FTIR. The findings are instrumental for establishing the feasibility of bioethanol and biodiesel production from Sargassum, offering insights into optimal conditions and solvent selection.

Keywords:

• Sargassum sp
• transesterification
• bioethanol
• biodiesel
• marine waste
• macro algae

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This study was undertaken with support from the World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR) Project (World Bank ACE Grant Number 6389-G). Also, the authors express their profound gratitude to the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Science for the usage of laboratory facilities.