MAB3 - The MacroAlgaeBiorefinery – sustainable production of 3G bioenergy carriers and high value aquatic fish feed from macroalgae

MAB3 project aimed to develop new technologies for sustainable growth and subsequent conversion of two brown algae species into energy carriers and fish feed ingredients. The project developed and demonstrated an integrated biorefinery process for biofuel and feed production. Variation of seaweed biomass composition across seasons and species was identified as another critical factor to develop macroalgal biorefineries. The project also showed that seaweed provide eutrophication mitigation services quantified as -25 kg N and -3 kg P equivalents per Mg seaweed dry weight cultivated, and that all the production systems analyzed can be carbon negative providing climate change mitigation service. Project results confirmed the importance of site selection and timing of harvest, in relation to the cultivation purpose of brown seaweed. To secure feasibility of seaweed production, further cultivation and storage cost reductions and multi-step extraction process development for producing higher value components applied in food, feed, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals can be investigated.  New projects of MAB4, SeaRefinery, MacroFuels and MacroCascade will continue the research based on the knowledge from MAB3.