SINGAPORE – Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have discovered a approach to sustainably produce oil from microalgae that might exchange the usage of palm oil in meals manufacturing.
Palm oil is the world’s hottest vegetable oil and is current in round half of all client merchandise, with round 77 million tonnes produced for the worldwide market in 2018. This is about to develop to 107.6 million tonnes by 2024.
However, the speedy enlargement of oil palm plantations has led to large deforestation in a number of nations.
For instance, in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, giant swathes of carbon-rich rainforests and peatlands are destroyed to make means for palm oil plantations, releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the ambiance and destroying the habitats of endangered native wildlife.
Aside from being a greener various to palm oil, the microalgae-derived oil can be extra nutritious than palm oil, Professor William Chen, director of NTU’s Food Science and Technology Programme, instructed reporters on Monday (March 21).
For one, the oil derived from algae comprises extra polyunsaturated fatty acids in contrast with palm oil – which may also help scale back levels of cholesterol within the blood and decrease an individual’s danger of coronary heart illness and stroke, mentioned Prof Chen, who led the undertaking.
The algae-produced oil, developed in collaboration with scientists from the University of Malaya in Malaysia, additionally comprises fewer saturated fatty acids, which have been linked to stroke and associated situations.
To produce the oil, pyruvic acid, an natural acid that happens in all dwelling cells, is added to a tradition medium resolution with the algae Chromochloris zofingiensis and uncovered to ultraviolet (UV) mild to stimulate photosynthesis.
After 14 days, the microalgae is washed, dried and handled with methanol to interrupt down the bonds between the oil and the algae protein, in order that the oil could be extracted.
The crew has additionally developed inexperienced processing know-how to effectively separate the lipids, carbohydrates and proteins from the microalgae to make sure that the whole course of has little to no waste, mentioned Prof Chen.
The extracted lipids could be the plant-based oil whereas the proteins and carbohydrates may very well be extracted for different makes use of.
To produce sufficient plant-based oil to fabricate a store-bought chocolate bar that weighs 100g, 160g of algae could be required.
Prof Chen famous that, whereas microalgae oil presently exists available in the market, there aren’t any choices for meals functions. On high of this, a examine on-line discovered that microalgae oil prices round US$2.40 (S$3.30) per litre, in contrast with US$0.60 to US$0.80 per litre for vegetable oils. This is a results of components reminiscent of excessive downstream processing prices and low biomass yield – that are areas the NTU crew has sought to handle.
When scaling up the manufacturing of microalgae, the scientists want to exchange UV mild with pure daylight so the vegetation can take away carbon dioxide from the ambiance by means of photosynthesis, changing it into biomass and oxygen at comparatively quick charges. Biomass refers back to the natural supplies and vitamins which can be saved by the plant.
Prof Chen added that microalgae may also be grown in a vertical farm, which requires much less farmland.
The scientists have additionally developed a technique to provide pyruvic acid, by fermenting fruit peels. The tradition medium for the microalgae, alternatively, could be made by fermenting soya bean residues.
This may also help minimize down on meals waste and scale back manufacturing prices, whereas making certain the microalgae oil stays price-competitive, famous Prof Chen.
He added that the acid comprised of fermented fruit peels can be capable of improve the yield of microalgae biomass by 3 times in contrast with generic pyruvic acid.
The crew is now engaged on optimising their extraction strategies to enhance yield and amount, they usually have obtained curiosity from a number of meals and beverage companions to scale up their operations inside two years.
Said Prof Chen: “We are also exploring the possibility of adding the oil to plant-based meats to improve their texture and nutritional properties. The oil can also be used for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, such as topical creams and lipsticks.”
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