• CSIR - Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute
  • G20
Seaweeds and their downstream processed products

Title of Process/ Know-how/ Product/Design/Equipment

Integrated processes for simultaneous production of sap and κ-carrageenan from fresh seaweed

  • IPR
    IPR Status & Details:
  • US 6893479, IN 224938, CN 1324052(C), EP 1534757, ID 0019080, JP 2006504605(A), KR 100689982(B1), PH1-2005-500340, TZP /05/00082, WO 2004016656
Application/Uses/Problem being addressed

India being agriculture country, there is considerable demand for developing low cost bio fertilizer that can affordable even by marginal farmers. The residue generated while producing liquid fertilizer can be used as a feedstock for making a number of commercially important products such as refined and semi refined carrageenan, biodegradable films, bio-ethanol, calorific applications etc.

The integrated technology has already been commercialized and one of our licensees viz., M/s Aquagri Processing Pvt. Ltd., which has set up processing plants for sap (15000 LPH capacity), has been marketing the product itself under the brand Aquasap and through many large fertiliser companies, both for Export and Domestic markets. Aquasap is approved for sale in South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and is OMRI listed and CDFA approved in USA. IFFCO which started by marketing the product in their brand name Sagarika has now taken 50% equity in Aquagri and are working on making this affordable product available to the Indian farmers on a pan India basis.

Salient Technical Features including Competing Features/ Impact

The fresh seaweed as harvested from farm is liquefied to produce a sap which proven to be a promising low-cost bio fertilizer (foliar spray) from field trials on various crops and residue processed for recovery of κ-carrageenan which is used as an emulsifier, thickener and gelling agent in a wide range of commercial products.

  • The integrated process as illustrated with Kappaphycus alvarezii allows both κ-carrageenan and liquid seaweed fertilizer to be recovered from fresh seaweed which would make cultivation of the seaweed more lucrative. For a one-hectare area of cultivation—which conservatively yields 100 tons of fresh biomass per annum—60-80 tons of liquid biofertilizer can be produced in addition to 2.5-4.5 tons of κ-carrageenan, depending on the grade.
  • The sap—which has proven efficacy as biofertilizer—is obtained without thermo-chemical cycling and external addition of water. It may be marketed directly requiring no further processing other than addition of preservatives.
  • Simple equipment such as a grinder-cum-mixer and a press filter installed preferably near the site of harvesting may suffice for homogenizing the fresh seaweed and allowing sap to be separated.
  • As compared to the ca. 850-900 kg water that needs to be removed from one ton of fresh Kappaphycus alvarezii as per the conventional method of drying the whole plant, only the moisture in the wet residue—amounting to 100-200 kg per ton of fresh seaweed—needs to be removed as per the method of the invention thereby greatly reducing drying time and area.
  • The free flowing, granular residue obtained from the fresh plant is superior to be dried whole plant as raw material for κ-carrageenan since the former is less bulky, easy to transport, easy to store, easy to handle, contains very little colour, has a higher κ-carrageenan content, and can even be used directly for gel formation in certain applications.
    • TRL Level & Scale of Development:
    TRL 9
    Business scope & opportunity (in terms of scale, cost, market etc.):

    India import large quantity of seaweed fertilizer that involves high foreign exchange exchequer (tentatively estimated at 800-1000 crore). Hence this technology has already been transferred to 2 industries for commercial production in India & revenue opportunity potential of licensee ~100=150 crore.

    Environmental Considerations:

    This is a eco-friendly process

    Status of Licensing:
    Licensed technology
    Status of Commercialization:
    Commercialized
    Major Raw Materials Needed

    Kappaphycus alvarezii (a red seaweed)

    Major Plant Equipment and Machinery Required
    1. Liquid expeller
    2. Jacketed open reactors with overhead mechanical stirring
    3. Boiler
    4. Autoclave
    5. Centrifuge
    6. Distillation unit for isopropyl alcohol
    Techno-Economics

    For one-hectare area of cultivation—which conservatively yields 100 tons of fresh biomass per annum—~60 tons of liquid biofertilizer can be produced in addition to 2.5-4.5 tons of κ-carrageenan, depending on the grade

    Tentative Price: Seaweed: ₹15- 20/kg

    Foliar Spray: ₹150-200/L

    Refined κ-carrageenan: ₹700 -1000 /Kg;

    Semi-refined κ-carrageenan: ₹250-300/Kg

    Technology Package

    Demonstration of production of LSPB @ 100 L/batch; Demonstration of production of semi refined and refined κ-carrageenan; Technology transfer document (TTD) having information on product specification, competition, market, details of equipment required for pilot level installation etc. along with demonstration certificate will be provided; Technical support till 6 months after know-how licensing; Know-how licensing fee details will be provided on request