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Optimization of a total acid hydrolysis based protocol for the quantification of carbohydrate in macroalgae

Kostas, E; Stuart, W; Daniel, W; David, C; (2016) Optimization of a total acid hydrolysis based protocol for the quantification of carbohydrate in macroalgae. Journal of Algal Biomass Utilization , 7 (1) pp. 21-36. Green open access

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Abstract

Accurate quantification of carbohydrate content of biomass is crucial for many bio-refining applications. The standardised NREL two stage complete acid hydrolysis protocol was evaluated for its suitability towards seaweeds, as the protocol was originally developed for lignocellulosic feedstocks. The compositional differences between the major polysaccharides in seaweeds and terrestrial plants, and seaweed’s less recalcitrant nature, could suggest the NREL based protocol may be too extreme. Underestimations of carbohydrate content through the degradation of liberated sugars into furan compounds may yield erroneous data. An optimised analysis method for carbohydrate quantification in the brown seaweed L. digitata was thus developed and evaluated. Results from this study revealed stage 1 of the assay was crucial for optimisation however stage 2 proved to be less crucial. The newly optimised protocol for L. digitata yielded 210 mg of carbohydrate per g of biomass compared to a yield of only 166 mg/g from the original NREL protocol. Use of the new protocol on two other species of seaweed also gave consistent results; higher carbohydrate and significantly lower sugar degradation products generation than the original protocol. This study demonstrated the importance of specific individual optimisations of the protocol for accurate sugar quantification, particularly for different species of seaweed

Type: Article
Title: Optimization of a total acid hydrolysis based protocol for the quantification of carbohydrate in macroalgae
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: http://jalgalbiomass.com/vol7no1.html
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Macroalgae, Carbohydrate, Optimization, Biofuels, Composition, Mass Balance.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Biochemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10079057
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