SaBRe: Sargassum Biorefinery - Sargassum seaweed as a future renewable feedstock for sustainable biomanufacturing.
Vigencia: 2024- 2027.
Responsable: Dr. Daniel Robledo Ramírez
Financiamiento: Schmidt Sciences: Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future - Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research. EEUU.
Resumen: argassum blooms in the Caribbean have caused severe ecological and economic crises, expected to reach the Southern Atlantic and Gulf Coast region of the United States. Advances in science, technology, and engineering could turn this crisis into an opportunity. We aim to develop Sargassum seaweed biorefinery processes that integrates various conversion technologies to produce a diverse array of products. The consortium integrates research ranging from basic Sargassum biology to synthetic biology, enzyme and metabolic engineering, catalyst development, and process optimization, all supported by techno-economic analyses and life cycle assessments. Achieving project goals will turn Sargassum from a nuisance causing environmental and economic devastation in coastal communities into a renewable feedstock of the future for biomanufacturing.