Disruption or partitioning? Deep eutectic solvent biphasic systems for integrated seaweed biorefineries

Bioresources and Bioprocessing

卷:13

Research

Isa S. A. Hiemstra¹  Wimar Reynaga-Navarro¹  Rene H. Wijffels^1,2  Michel H. M. Eppink³  Antoinette Kazbar¹ 

[1] Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

[2] Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, 8049, Bodø, Norway

[3] Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, TU Delft, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, The Netherlands

关键词: Biorefinery;    Brown seaweed;    Deep eutectic solvents;    Alginate;    Fucoxanthin;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40643-026-01139-9

 received in 2026-06-11, accepted in 2026-09-10,  发布年份 2026

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

In this study, a DES-based biphasic system (FABU) was evaluated for the multiproduct extraction of compounds from Saccharina latissima. The system combined a hydrophobic fatty-acid phase (dodecanoic acid–octanoic acid, FA) for fucoxanthin extraction with a hydrophilic betaine-urea-phase (BU) for alginate recovery, together with citric acid pretreatment for fucoidan and mannitol recovery. While fucoxanthin partitioning into the FA phase was limited (41–58 µg g− 1), a substantially higher fucoxanthin concentration (563 ± 8 µg g− 1) was recovered during the subsequent alkaline extraction step. This behaviour indicates that the DES-based system likely acts as a medium that enhances biomass permeability rather than directly promoting partitioning. Chromatographic profiles further showed enhanced fucoxanthin preservation relative to conventional pigment extraction, suggesting a protective role of the DES matrix. These findings highlight a decoupling between biomass disruption and solubilisation in DES-based systems. Our research shows new opportunities to deploy biphasic DES systems as powerful pretreatment platforms within integrated seaweed biorefineries, thereby offering a new strategy for preserving and recovering sensitive compounds.Graphical abstract

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2026

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