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

作为英国海岸线附近的一种天然资源，海藻作为循环生物经济中最可持续、最节能的原料之一，在国内和国际上都得到了认可。众所周知，海藻在其结构中含有大量有价值的化合物，可用于制药、保健品、食品和化妆品，或转化为生物燃料。这是迫在眉睫的需要，因为我们需要找到替代来源或原料，以取代石化衍生材料和燃料，希望能够防止气候变化，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层叠式生物精炼工艺来帮助解决我们当前的一些全球问题，这些工艺能够生产多种有价值的产品。然而，一些关键的挑战仍然存在，这些挑战阻碍了基于海藻的工艺和产品的可扩展性和商业化。在我的开创性研究中，我已经展示了从海藻中生产新型生物产品的可行加工路线，在生物炼制概念中，有了这个未来领袖奖学金，我将坚定地把以海藻为基础的循环生物经济放在英国和全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过程的基础上，但具体目标是克服阻碍海藻生物精炼厂发展的独特挑战。将探索从海藻中制造有价值的产品、食品/饲料来源和材料（用于生物塑料和天然材料应用）以及生物燃料的新方法。还将利用工艺废物流馏分来尽量减少浪费。新型反应器装置将在连续流下运行，以使有价值的产品，如多糖的回收更有效，并有可能扩大到工业水平。将评估新工艺的环境影响和成本，以确保新的生物制造工艺是可持续的、环保的和有利可图的。此外，在该奖学金期间，将制定战略，以确保公众接受海藻生物炼制研究，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。考虑到循环海藻生物经济的所有这些因素，英国将准备好向更绿色的生物经济过渡，这要归功于我在奖学金中提出的研究，而奖学金将使我作为一名女性成为净零的前沿研究的拥护者。

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.