Seaconomy: Integrated Manufacturing and Biorefinery Research for Building the UK's Seaweed Bioeconomy

作为英国海岸线周围的一种自然资源，海藻继续在国内和国际上获得认可，被视为循环生物经济中最可持续和最节能的原料之一。众所周知，海藻含有大量锁定在其结构中的有价值的化合物，用于制药、营养食品、食品和化妆品，或转化为生物燃料。这是在迫切需要的时候出现的，因为我们需要寻找替代来源或原料，以取代石化衍生材料和燃料，以期防止气候变化，并创造更环保的化学品和产品。研究表明，令人兴奋的潜在海藻必须通过开发能够生产多种有价值产品的级联生物精炼工艺来帮助解决我们目前的一些全球问题。然而，仍然存在一些关键挑战，这些挑战阻碍了以海藻为基础的工艺和产品的可伸缩性和商业化。在我的开创性研究中，我已经展示了在生物精炼概念内从海藻生产新型生物制品的可行工艺路线，有了这个未来领袖奖学金，我将坚定地将基于海藻的循环生物经济放在英国乃至世界的工程和政治景观上。为了实现这一目标，我将在我的研究中已经建立的海藻工艺的基础上再接再厉，但具体目的是克服阻碍海藻生物精炼发展的独特挑战。将探索从海藻中生产有价值的产品、食物/饲料来源和材料(用于生物塑料和天然材料应用)和生物燃料的新方法。还将利用工艺废气馏分来最大限度地减少浪费。将建造在连续流动下运行的新型反应器设备，以提高多糖等有价值产品的回收效率，并有可能扩大到工业水平。将对新工艺的环境影响和成本进行评估，以确保新的生物制造工艺是可持续、环境友好和有利可图的。此外，在本次奖学金期间，将制定战略，以确保公众接受海藻生物精炼研究，并促进建立可持续的英国海藻产业的潜力，特别是在沿海社区。还将建立与政策制定者的接触联系，以促进政府政策的协调，将海藻确立为英国的可持续资源。随着循环海藻生物经济的所有这些要素得到解决，英国将准备好过渡到更绿色的生物经济，这要归功于我的奖学金中提出的研究，而该奖学金将使我作为一名女性成为Net-Zero尖端研究的捍卫者。

As a naturally occurring resource around the UK coastline, seaweeds continue to gain recognition both nationally and internationally, as one of the most sustainable and energy efficient feedstocks for use within a circular bioeconomy. Seaweeds are known to contain a wealth of valuable compounds locked up within their structures, for applications in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food and cosmetics, or conversion into biofuels. This comes at an imminent time of need as we need to find alternative sources, or feedstocks, to replace petrochemically derived materials and fuels in the hope to prevent climate change, and to also create more environmentally friendly chemicals and products. Research has revealed the exciting potential seaweeds have to help tackle some of our current global issues through the development of cascading biorefinery processes which are capable of producing multiple valuable products. However, a number of key challenges still exist which are preventing the scalability and commercialisation of seaweed-based processes and products. In my pioneering research, I have already shown viable processing routes for producing novel bioproducts from seaweed, within a biorefinery concept, and with this Future Leaders Fellowship I will firmly put the seaweed-based circular bioeconomy on the engineering and polical landscape of the UK, and world-wide. To achieve this, I will build upon the seaweed process already established in my research, however with the specific aim of overcoming unique challenges hindering the development of seaweed biorefineries. New approaches of biomanufacturing valuable products, food/feed sources and materials (for bioplastics and natural materials applications) and biofuels from seaweed will be explored. Process waste-stream fractions will also be utilised to minimise waste. Novel reactor devices operating under continuous flow will be built to make the recovery of valuable products, such as polysaccharides, more efficient with potential to be scaled up to industrial level. The environmental impacts and costs of the new processes will be assessed to ensure that the new biomanufacturing processes are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and profitable. Furthermore, strategies will be put in place during this Fellowship to make sure there is public acceptance of seaweed biorefinery research and to promote the potential of building a sustainable UK seaweed industry, particularly within coastal communities. Engagement links with policy makers will also be established to facilitate the alignment of government policy establishing seaweed as UK sustainable resource. With all these ingredients for a circular seaweed bioeconomy addressed, the UK will be ready to make the transition to a greener bioeconomy thanks to research the research proposed in my Fellowship, and the Fellowship will enable me as a woman to become a champion of cutting-edge research for net-zero.