Seaweed Biorefinery in Ghana – SeaBioGha

project summary

The project will establish cultivation of seaweed along Ghana’s 540 km of coastline and establishing relevant technology, develop local know-how and new business opportunities for seaweed cultivation (i.e. farming) and processing of seaweed products in Ghana. The project will develop selective enzymatic technologies to extract valuable hydrocolloids, carrageenan, alginate, and fucoidan from seaweed. The technology is fit for local, smallscale enterprise and green growth in Ghana. The seaweed processing residues will be exploited for production of bioenergy, including bioelectricity by microbial fuel cells (resting on experiences developed in an ongoing DFC project among the partners). Sustainability aspects will be carefully considered to establish green processes. The project focus is:

1. Development of offshore seaweed farming in Ghana;

2. Development of local enzyme production and bio-catalytic extraction; technologies for sustainable extraction of target hydrocolloids;

3. Sustainability assessment;

4. Local training and entrepreneurship development for seaweed farming and seaweed processing business opportunities in Ghana.