Ionic Liquid-Assisted Selective Extraction and Partitioning of Biomolecules from Macroalgae

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Marine Biology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Macroalgae are valuable feedstocks for industries due to high protein and carbohydrate content.
• Efficient extraction and fractionation methods are needed for macroalgae biorefining.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel ionic liquid (IL)-based extraction and fractionation concept for macroalgae.
• To selectively extract proteins and carbohydrates from Ulva lactuca while recovering the IL.

Main Methods:

• IL-assisted mechanical shear for biomolecule extraction.
• Two-phase partitioning or ultrafiltration for fractionation and IL recovery.
• Utilized Ethyl methyl imidazolium dibutyl phosphate ([Emim][DBP]) as the IL.

Main Results:

• Achieved protein extraction yields up to 80.4% and carbohydrate yields up to 30.7%.
• Recovered 64.6% of proteins and 15.4% of carbohydrates in the retentate phase.
• Recovered up to 85.7% of the IL in the permeate phase.
• Preserved the native structure of extracted proteins.

Conclusions:

• Selective extraction of proteins from macroalgae under non-denaturing conditions using ILs is reported for the first time.
• The developed method is simple and potentially scalable for commercial macroalgae biorefineries.
• This approach facilitates the valorization of macroalgae resources.