Toward Sustainable Hydroxymethylfurfural Production Using Seaweeds

Abstract

Chemical manufacturing involves carbon sources releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere. By contrast, seaweeds are carbon sinks that can absorb released CO₂ and therefore have great potential for use as feedstocks in sustainable chemical manufacturing. In particular, seaweeds could contribute to mitigating vast amounts of global CO₂ emissions. Accordingly, seaweeds could be an excellent candidate biomaterial for sustainable production of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), called a 'sleeping giant' platform chemical due to its wide versatility in chemical manufacturing. HMF is produced through sugar dehydration mechanisms, and seaweed storage glucans comprised of glucose can be appropriate feeding substrates for its production. This opinion article introduces a new opportunity for sustainable production of HMF using storage glucan-rich seaweeds.

Keywords: algal bioengineering; floridean starch; hydroxymethylfurfural; laminarin; seaweeds; storage glucans.