The present study describes a simple process for recovering a stream of products sequentially including bioethanol from the fresh biomass of the red seaweed Gracilaria corticata. From processing of 100g fresh biomass (∼12.2 g dry), 166 ± 3 μg/g R-phycoerythrin, 126±4μg/g R-phycocyanin can be realized on fresh weight basis, and 1.41 ± 0.03% crude lipid, 22.45 ± 0.53% agar, 12.39 ± 0.85% soil conditioner, 2.89 ± 0.04% bioethanol on dry weight basis along with 318 ± 3 ml of mineral rich liquid with possible fertilizer applications. The advantages of this process are complete utilization of feedstock without compromising the yield and quality of products, reusability of solvents and no solid waste. Further, the products recovered from one ton fresh biomass were found to have an estimated market value of USD 1051 while processing cost including raw material as 241 USD, a fourfold value addition of feedstock.
Keywords: Bioethanol; Biorefinery; Gracilaria; Macroalgae; Renewable chemicals.
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