Pilot plant scale production process of carageenan from Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed and its potency mapping

Abstract

Kappaphycus alvarezii is one of the seaweeds from Rhodophyceae class, better known as Eucheuma cottonii. Its potential development in Indonesia is quite large and it is a producer of carrageenan. Carrageenan is a polysaccharide compound that can be extracted with water or high temperature alkali to form a gel. Commercially, this product is obtained in semi refined carrageenan and refined carrageenan forms. Important parameters in commercial process of carrageenan extraction that will affect the quality of the resulted carrageenan are the concentration of solvent, the ratio of seaweed to solvent, temperature and extraction time. The objectives of this research were: (1) to obtain the optimal alkali treatment process condition to produce alkali treated cottonii (ATC) at laboratory scale, (2) to obtain an extraction process condition using water after alkali treatment to produce refined carrageenan (RC) at pilot plant scale (3) to map the potency of Kappaphycus alvarezii in order to develop the production process of carageenan at pilot plant scale. This research was conducted in several steps. First, the proximate content of the seaweed was analysed. Afterwards, the optimation process in ATC processing was conducted, under these conditions; alkali concentration (6-8%), temperature (70-80oC) and time (1-2 hours). Further step was the optimation of extraction process using water after alkali treatment in RC processing at pilot plant scale. The extraction process selected were the ratio between material (seaweed) and solvent (water) (1:20-1:35), temperature (85-95 oC), and time (2-4 hours). The quality parameters of ATC products were analysed using yield test and gel strength, whereas for RC products, the quality parameters were analysed with yield, water content, ash content, acid-insoluble ash content, sulphate content, gel strength, viscosity and whiteness. Statistical method used was DX 7.0 RSM Box-Behnken. As the final step of this research, a mapping of K. alvarezii potency was conducted to develop pilot plant scale production process of carageenan using the Principal Component Analysis method. Based on RSM Box-Behnken Design, it was known that the concentration of KOH, temperature and time, were significantly influenced the ATC response value. The relationship between variables and ATC yield response can be expressed by Y = -0.97A + 6.59B – 1.79C – 0.05B2 equation, while gel strength can be expressed by Y = 29030.24A + 1488.61B – 521.90C – 406.91AB – 64.50AC – 1984.79A2 + 344.21C2 + 28.02A2B equation. The optimal response of ATC was 92.8%, with process conditions of 6% KOH, temperature at 78.67°C and 1 hour duration. At these conditions, RC yield and gel strength obtained were 38.72% and 1105.31 g/cm2, respectively. The optimum process conditions to produce RC in pilot plant scale were at seaweed and water ratio of 1:25.22, 85.80°C, and 4 hours. At these conditions, the RC yield was 31.74%, the moisture content was 10.69%, the ash content was 30.52%, the acid insoluble content was 0.21%, the sulphate content was 17.12%, the gel strength was 1833.37 g/cm2, the viscosity was 27 cP and the whiteness was 74.8. Further, process technology of carrageenan production was used as a reference in mapping the potential area in developing carrageenan production process at pilot plant scale. Based on the mapping of the Principal Component Analysis method, it was known 19 districts have the potential to develop carrageenan production process at pilot plant scale. The Districts were mapped into four groups based on similarity of characteristics of potential carrying capacities of each district. The first group consisted of 14 districts were characterized by the carrying capacities of training centers, educational facilities, banking institutions, seaweed processing industry, cooperation with seaweed processing industry, gas stations, airports, ports, and social security. The second group consisted of 19 districts were characterized by the carrying capacities of the relevant institutions, health centers, telecommunications and roads. The third group consists of 22 districts were characterized by the carrying capacities of the land area, land utilized, dried seaweed production, population and electrical, and the fourth group consisted of 36 districts were characterized by the potential carrying capacities of fishing households, labor force, water and the markets.