SINGAPORE – Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have discovered a approach to sustainably produce oil from microalgae that might exchange the usage of palm oil in meals manufacturing.
Palm oil is the world’s hottest vegetable oil and is current in round half of all client merchandise, with round 77 million tonnes produced for the worldwide market in 2018. This is about to develop to 107.6 million tonnes by 2024.
However, the speedy enlargement of oil palm plantations has led to large deforestation in a number of nations.
For instance, in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, giant swathes of carbon-rich rainforests and peatlands are destroyed to make means for palm oil plantations, releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the ambiance and destroying the habitats of endangered native wildlife.
Aside from being a greener various to palm oil, the microalgae-derived oil can be extra nutritious than palm oil, Professor William Chen, director of NTU’s Food Science and Technology Programme, instructed reporters on Monday (March 21).
For one, the oil derived from algae comprises extra polyunsaturated fatty acids in contrast with palm oil – which may also help scale back levels of cholesterol within the blood and decrease an individual’s danger of coronary heart illness and stroke, mentioned Prof Chen, who led the undertaking.
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The algae-produced oil, developed in collaboration with scientists from the University of Malaya in Malaysia, additionally comprises fewer saturated fatty acids, which have been linked to stroke and associated situations.
To produce the oil, pyruvic acid, an natural acid that happens in all dwelling cells, is added to a tradition medium resolution with the algae Chromochloris zofingiensis and uncovered to ultraviolet (UV) mild to stimulate photosynthesis.
After 14 days, the microalgae is washed, dried and handled with methanol to interrupt down the bonds between the oil and the algae protein, in order that the oil could be extracted.
The crew has additionally developed inexperienced processing know-how to effectively separate the lipids, carbohydrates and proteins from the microalgae to make sure that the whole course of has little to no waste, mentioned Prof Chen.
The extracted lipids could be the plant-based oil whereas the proteins and carbohydrates may very well be extracted for different makes use of.
To produce sufficient plant-based oil to fabricate a store-bought chocolate bar that weighs 100g, 160g of algae could be required.
