Toward Sustainable Hydroxymethylfurfural Production Using Seaweeds.

Chemical manufacturing involves carbon sources releasing CO into the atmosphere. By contrast, seaweeds are carbon sinks that can absorb released CO and therefore have great potential for use as feedstocks in sustainable chemical manufacturing. In particular, seaweeds could contribute to mitigating vast amounts of global CO emissions. Accordingly, seaweeds could be an excellent candidate biomaterial for sustainable production of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), called a 'sleeping giant' platform chemical due to its wide versatility in chemical manufacturing. HMF is produced through sugar dehydration mechanisms, and seaweed storage glucans comprised of glucose can be appropriate feeding substrates for its production. This opinion article introduces a new opportunity for sustainable production of HMF using storage glucan-rich seaweeds.