Reaction of Sulfur and Sustainable Algae Oil for Polymer Synthesis and Enrichment of Saturated Triglycerides

• Published in: ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering Vol. 10; no. 28; pp. 9022 - 9028
• Main Authors: Gupta, Adarsha, Worthington, Max J. H., Patel, Harshal D., Johnston, Martin R., Puri, Munish, Chalker, Justin M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 18.07.2022
• Subjects: Polymer; Sulfur; Schizochytrium thraustochytrids; Inverse vulcanization; Single cell oil
• ISSN: 2168-0485; 2168-0485
• DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c08139

There is growing interest in the biobased production of lipids from algae. These lipids have a range of uses including nutritional supplements and precursors to biodiesel. Single-cell thraustochytrids are especially attractive in this regard in that they can produce over 50% of their weight as triglycerides. Furthermore, the distribution of saturated and unsaturated triglycerides can be modulated by changes in strain variation and fermentation conditions. Nonetheless, there remains a need for versatile downstream processing to enrich these so-called “single cell oils” into classes based on degree of unsaturation. In this study, we report a novel strategy for enriching saturated triglycerides produced in thraustochytrids. The method features direct reaction of elemental sulfur with the algae oil extract. Sulfur copolymerizes with >90% of the unsaturated triglycerides, providing a new route to a class of materials previously used in environmental remediation, Li–S battery cathodes, slow-release fertilizers, and insulation. The unreacted oil is enriched in saturated triglycerides, which can be isolated by extraction for potential use in biodiesel production. In this way, a single batch of sustainably produced algae oil can be converted into multiple useful products in a single step.