Blue materials and green pathways for their design

We devise a strategy to create and study materials based on polymers liberated from green macroalgae.

Efficient and non-destructive recovery of key algal components such as ulvan and cellulose is enabled by the concomitant development of a biorefining pathway.

The fractionation and material synthesis pathways will be designed to accommodate bio-based feedstock and to run efficiently in green media and air.

Mechanisms and structure-property relationships will be thoroughly addressed providing a toolbox allowing for the scalable recovery and engineering of carbohydrates into functioning bio-based materials, paving the way for innovative uses for seaweed components as bio-plastics and gels.The use of renewable material resources and sound methods for converting them to value-adding materials that can replace fossil-based products are integral parts of the global strive to meet the grand challenge of a future sustainable society.

Benign and easily managed strategies for doing so are keys to any realistic future implementation.