Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Ulvan: A Versatile Platform of Biomaterials
from Renewable Resources
Federica Chiellini and Andrea Morelli
Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical and Environmental
Applications (BIOlab) UdR-INSTM - Department of Chemistry
and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa
Italy
1. Introduction
Biomass represents an abundant renewable resource for the production of bioenergy and
biomaterials and its exploitation could lead to overcome the dependence from petroleum
resources. Indeed fossil energy and chemical sources are not unlimited and there is a critical
need to turn the current way of life back to a sustainable manner. The conversion of
biomasses into high value chemicals, energy and materials is nowadays gaining more and
more attention and represents the final goal of the “Industrial Biorefinering”. Indeed
Biorefinery aims at the optimum exploitation of biomass resources for the production of
materials that eventually might replace the conventional products from fossil/non
renewable resources, thus decisively contributing to the development of a sustainable
system. The great challenge in which Biorefinering is involved is the possibility of creating
high value products from low value biomasses. In this view, the feasibility of using starting
materials obtainable from organic waste sources (agricultural, municipal and industrial
waste) or having harmful effects on the environment (algae) as feedstock can represent the
strategy of election for the production of sustainable materials.
To this aim algae could represent a potentially advantageous biomass to be explored since
they are very abundant and cheap and very often involved in uncontrolled proliferation
processes detrimental for marine and aquatic environments (Barghini et al., 2010, Chiellini et
al., 2008, 2009, Fletcher, 1996). Today most of the naturally produced and harvested algal
biomass is an unused resource and often is left to decompose on the shore creating waste
problems (Morand et al., 2006). The current use of this huge underexploited biomass is
mainly limited to food consumption and as bio-fertilizer, but its potentiality as renewable
and sustainable feedstock for energy and material production is gaining more and more
attention (Demirbas A. & Demirbas M.F., 2011). Indeed microalgae have been considered to
be an excellent source for biodiesel production since are characterized by high growth rates
and high population densities, ideal for intensive agriculture and may contain huge lipid
amounts, needed for fuel production (Christi, 2007). Besides biodiesel, algae can be
cultivated and can be used as a feedstock for the production of bioethanol (John et al., 2011).
In particular macroalgae (seaweed) can produce huge amount of carbohydrates per year
