Indonesia's rich marine resources make it the world's largest producer/supplier of Cottonii seaweed. However, despite this advantage, the country is also the largest importer of processed seaweed products, particularly carrageenan. Ideally, Indonesia should take the lead in the seaweed industry, especially for Cottonii and its derivatives.
According to Prof. Uju, a professor at the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, IPB University, solid waste from refined carrageenan processing can be converted into biosugar and bioethanol. He explains that this solid carrageenan waste has a lower lignin content and contains 34% cellulose, making it a promising raw material for bio-based products.
This biomass composition is comparable to that of terrestrial plants, making it suitable for conversion into biosugar (glucose) and bioethanol.
"We utilize ionic liquid pretreatment technology, specifically [Hpy][Cl], to efficiently and environmentally convert cellulose from solid carrageenan waste into sugar," said Prof. Uju, as reported by IPB University.
He further explained that processing solid carrageenan waste into bioethanol offers a high conversion rate and production costs that are competitive with bioethanol derived from sugarcane and starch-based sources.
Prof. Uju also introduced the biorefinery approach, an industrial processing method aimed at maximizing the potential of Cottonii carrageenophyte seaweed. "In addition to carrageenan, Kappaphycus (Cottonii) seaweed can produce other valuable biochemical compounds, including phycoerythrin pigments, cellulose, fertilizers, bioethanol, sugar, and various other biochemical products with significant market value and added industrial benefits," he stated.
Another major challenge in the refined carrageenan industry is the high cost of the purification process.
Purification using alcohol produces higher-quality carrageenan but comes with a significantly higher price. According to Prof. Uju, this method requires a large volume of alcohol—about 1.5 to 4 times the volume of the seaweed extract filtrate.
"We have been exploring the use of microfiltration. Through this innovation, we have successfully reduced alcohol consumption by 4.5 to 12 times, significantly lowering production costs for the precipitation process," he explained.
Microfiltration also greatly enhances the purity of refined carrageenan, resulting in a stronger gel that meets the standards set by FAO-JECFA.