India’s blue economy ambitions hinge not on scaling marine bioproducts alone, but on transitioning to chemical-free processing pathways that deliver genuine environmental, economic, and climate gains
Marine biomass, such as microalgae, macroalgae, and fisheries residues, is being increasingly promoted as a renewable feedstock for the sustainable generation of high-value bioproducts and biofuels, addressing both climate change and socio-economic development. Marine biomass cultivation does not require agricultural land or freshwater and shows higher productivity than land-based crops. With more than 99 percent of global seaweed production, expected to reach US$85 million by 2026, concentrated in Asia, India can leverage its vast marine biomass potential to achieve its blue economy goals.
To ensure circularity and enhance climate gains and local economic benefits, it is necessary to integrate low-chemical or chemical-free processing pathways into these frameworks to establish truly sustainable marine biorefineries aligned with India’s National Biofuel Policy and Blue Economy strategies.
India’s blue economy strategies often prioritise the scaling up of value-added products from marine biomass, equating it with sustainable production. However, the sustainability outcomes of marine value chains are driven less by the products themselves and more by the processing methods used to manufacture them. Extraction processes account for the majority of sustainability challenges due to chemical-based extraction involving strong acids, alkalis, and organic solvents; high freshwater use; and toxic effluents, requiring energy-intensive, expensive downstream purification steps. Without clear policy guidelines, standards, and monitoring, blue economy initiatives thus risk the proliferation of unsustainable practices camouflaged as green labelling. To ensure circularity and enhance climate gains and local economic benefits, it is necessary to integrate low-chemical or chemical-free processing pathways into these frameworks to establish truly sustainable marine biorefineries aligned with India’s National Biofuel Policy and Blue Economy strategies.
For the extraction of any biochemicals or bioproducts, the biomass must first undergo processing, or pretreatment, to break down its rigid structure and gain access to its components. Pretreatment and extraction processes account for a major share of the economic and environmental footprint of marine bioproduct production costs. For instance, in seaweed value addition, chemical processing hinders scale-up as it contributes approximately 40 percent of the overall production cost while generating harmful acidic or alkaline effluents as part of the pre-discharge treatment requirements. These challenges, compounded by India’s reliance on wild-harvested, low-cost seaweed (INR 15–30/kg), lead to inconsistent feedstock composition—marked by wide variations in sugar (15–60 percent) and ash (20–40 percent) content—alongside contamination and uneven maturity, thereby constraining scalable processing.
Global best practices indicate that chemical-free processing can offer viable pathways to overcome the economic, environmental, and feedstock-related constraints facing marine bioproduct manufacturing. For example, Cyanotech, a Hawai’i-based microalgae company, uses chemical-free extraction to produce high-quality spirulina and astaxanthin, while meeting international regulatory and sustainability standards. Likewise, Australia’s Marinova Pvt. Ltd. uses a chemical-free extraction process to obtain high-purity biochemicals from seaweed, earning the company European Union (EU) organic certification, access to more than 35 international markets, and low environmental impacts. Ocean Harvest Technology, a UK-based company, similarly produces value-added products from seaweed biomass without the use of any chemical agents or solvents for extraction. Partnering with coastal communities in Asia and Europe, the company not only facilitates steady income but also minimises environmental impacts and increases product competitiveness and market value.
Global best practices indicate that chemical-free processing can offer viable pathways to overcome the economic, environmental, and feedstock-related constraints facing marine bioproduct manufacturing.
These examples indicate that transitioning towards chemical-free processing yields multiple public and system-level benefits, including reduced environmental impacts, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, climate mitigation, lower freshwater use, reduced compliance costs, improved alignment with environmental social governance (ESG) standards, and the creation of new employment opportunities for coastal communities through decentralised value chains. However, despite their significant environmental burden, India continues to rely on conventional chemical extraction processes, mainly due to outdated infrastructure, established industry norms, and low capital investment costs.
Chemical-free processing solutions must be explored as strategic pathways to build sustainable, environmentally friendly industrial infrastructure, rather than as isolated technologies. Key approaches include mechanical, thermal/hydrothermal, enzyme-assisted and microbial processing. These methods are known to retain biomolecule functionality and reduce wastewater generation by up to 70 percent compared to chemical extractions. These small-scale, low-infrastructure operations can also be easily decentralised, lowering logistical expenses and strengthening local value chains. Techniques such as hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and microbial processing do not require freshwater, making them suitable for water-stressed regions.
Indian companies such as Sea6Energy, supported by HPCL, have successfully applied the hydrothermal conversion to produce carbon-neutral fuels, contributing to national biofuel and climate goals. A comparison with life-cycle analysis of other processing methods indicates that microbial fermentation pathways can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50 percent. Enzyme-based processing enables the production of integrated multiproduct biorefineries, generating multiple value-added products from a single biomass source at mild temperatures and pH, reducing both energy intensity and downstream waste treatment requirements.
Key approaches include mechanical, thermal/hydrothermal, enzyme-assisted and microbial processing. These methods are known to retain biomolecule functionality and reduce wastewater generation by up to 70 percent compared to chemical extractions.
The adoption of chemical-free processing approaches can provide substantial governance advantages. Reducing effluent load lowers infrastructure requirements for effluent treatment and simplifies regulatory compliance and monitoring requirements. These pathways also align with the emerging environmental and trade regulations and ESG frameworks, strengthening India’s position in the global bioproduct market.
Marine biomass processing can be included as part of green industrial clusters in coastal districts, alongside manufacturing and other logistics, aligning with India’s goals for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and coastal economy development.
Achieving tangible outcomes will require integrating chemical-free processing into coordinated policy action across multiple ministries and initiatives, prioritising the following factors.
To build a truly sustainable blue bioeconomy, India should adopt chemical-free processing methods for the extraction of high-value marine bioproducts at scale alongside circular blue economy pathways. Through collaborative efforts, strengthening research and development, providing financial incentives, and enabling market entry, India can minimise environmental impact, strengthen local economies, and establish itself as a global leader in marine bioproducts.
Poornima V B is a Research Assistant at the Observer Research Foundation.
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