SeaRefinery will develop eco-friendly chemical and enzymatic processing technologies to extract and purify high value-added components such as antioxidants, antimicrobial components and hydrocolloids from cultivated seaweed species (e.g. Saccharina latissima) in an integrated biorefinery. Bioactive compounds, e.g. phlorotannins, fucoidan, and laminarin, will be selectively tested for bioactivity. In addition, laminarin and marine proteins will be tested in nutraceutical and selected food model systems. Alginate will be tested as additive for textile applications via coating and extrusion technologies. In order to maximise the value of the biorefinery feedstock (input) and derived products (output), we will grow monocultures on innovative textile cultivation substrates with high yield biomass production. Seasonal variation, replicated over two years, of the selected biomolecules will be a measuring tool for harvesting the seaweeds with maximum contents of bioactive compounds.
