Evaluation of Algae-based by-products for commercial growth media and novel extractives

根据联合国粮食及农业组织的数据，全球以海藻为基础的产品每年的估计价值为50亿美元， 农业组织预测。Maritime BioExtracts Inc. (MBE)是一家位于新斯科舍省的生物企业 一家从海带中提取营养产品的企业。目前的提取过程会产生 固体废物副产品，这对MBE构成了重大的财务和处置挑战。目前，高 废物管理成本限制了Maritime BioExtracts扩大业务以满足需求的能力 对他们的营养产品的需求不断增长。拟议的Engage项目旨在评估低成本 堆肥技术，包括静态堆堆肥系统和船内堆肥系统， 管理和稳定MBE产生的海藻固体废物。堆肥产品有潜力成为 作为园艺土壤改良剂或植物生长促进剂销售给有机农业部门。这 Engage项目将为MBE提供一种低成本的替代方案来管理他们的废物产品，并研究如何 通过堆肥为固体废物增值。预计该项目的成果将 产生稳定的堆肥产品，其将可销售给有机园艺种植者。额外 该项目的一个特点是使用先进的化学扫描技术来识别独特的化学品 研究人员正在研究以海藻为基础的堆肥的成分，以供将来研究其他生物活性产品。的结果 为期六个月的项目将使MBE能够扩大其营养保健品的现有生产能力 产品，这将支持更多的当地就业，降低管理固体废物的成本，并 增加了向园艺部门销售的新的增值堆肥产品的潜力。的好处 加拿大存在于支持创业的生物风险部门，这是一个新的和不断扩大的领域， 经济

Global seaweed-based products have an estimated value of $5 billion annually based on the UN Food and Agriculture Organization projections. Maritime BioExtracts Inc. (MBE) is a Nova Scotia based bio-venture enterprise extracting a nutraceutical product from a kelp seaweed. The current extraction process generates solid waste by-products which pose a significant financial and disposal challenge for MBE. Currently, the high cost of waste management is limiting Maritime BioExtracts' ability to expand their operations to meet the growing demand for their nutraceutical product. The proposed Engage project aims to evaluate low cost composting technologies including, a static pile composting system and an in-vessel composting system to manage and stabilize the seaweed solid waste generated by MBE. The compost products have potential to be marketed as horticultural soil amendments or plant growth enhancers to the organic agriculture sector. This Engage project will provide MBE with a low cost alternative to manage their waste products and examine how to value add value to the waste solids through composting. It is anticipated that the result of this project will result in stablilized compost products which will be marketable to organic horticultural growers. An additional feature of this project will be to use advanced chemical scanning techniques to identify the unique chemical components of the seaweed-based compost for future research into other bio-active products. An outcome of the six month project will be to enable MBE to expand the current production capacity of their nutraceutical product, which will support greater local employment, reduce the costs of managing their solid wastes, and set up the potential for a new value added compost product for sale to the horticultural sector. The benefits to Canada exists in supporting entrepreneurial the bio-venture sector which is a new and expanding area of the economy.