5-10: Chemical characterization of Abu Dhabi native macroalgae to asses the potential for second generation biofuels

Biofuels from aquatic biomass is a promising source of sustainable energy. Algae and seagrass are considered to be some of the most rapid growing sources of biomass. Their growth rate is estimated to be 10 times higher when compared to the terrestrial plants. Their natural habitat makes them ideal biomass for biofuel production as they do not compete with land-based crops in terms of land use and food production (Borines et al., 2011). Macroalgae samples were collected from Abu Dhabi’s costal area. The water and ethanol soluble extractives removal was performed using the Soxhlet apparatus and 66% of the original dry biomass weight was removed. Strong acid hydrolysis was performed on extractives free macroalgae for the structural carbohydrates content determination, which revealed 46% glucan and 2% of arabinan in the extractives-free macroalgae. The biomass was found to contain 48% of ash and no acid insoluble residue. Due to significant glucan content, macroalgae could be an interesting substrate for bioethanol production through enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation, giving an opportunity for the aquatic biomass to become the main feedstock for bioenergy generation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Ash removal from macroalgae, enzymatic hydrolysis and yeast fermentation will be performed in order to evaluate the ethanol production potential.