Cellulose fibres are known for their good mechanical properties, therefore they are used as fillers in structural composite materials, including as nanofibrils in nanomaterials. Also, they are biocompatible, non-toxic and biodegradable, reason for their use in the food industry as packaging materials or in obtaining medical materials. One source of cheap, easy- to- extract cellulose is the algal mass of Ulva lactuca, one of the most frequent species found in the Black Sea. In this study, cellulose extraction from Ulva lactuca was achieved by a simple low cost physical-chemical treatment. Freshly harvested seaweed was dried at 45 °C for 48 hours, transformed into a fine powder in order to increase the contact surface between the solvents and the alga. Extraction of lipids and chlorophyll took place in Soxhlet apparatus with ethanol. Successive steps of chemical treatment, having in view removal of hydrosoluble ulvans, pigments and hemicellulose lead to a yield of 15.36% in dry matter (DM) of cellulose-rich insoluble fraction proving that Ulva Lactuca species is a viable alternative resource in cellulose production.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of dried Cystoseira barbata alga for ethanol production through alcoholic fermentation. The influence of the main factors affecting the fermentation are studied in the frame of a 23 factorial experimental plan. The main factors influencing the process are the fermentation temperature (t from 25 °C to 35 °C), the solid to liquid ratio (S/L from 0.040 g/g to 0.080 g/g), and the cellulase ratio (R from 8 U/g d.m to 16 U/g d.m.). The maximum volatile compounds yield of 0.2808 g/g d.m and ethanol yield of 0.0158 g/g d.m were favored by the following experimental conditions: process temperature of 35 °C, solid to liquid ratio of 0.0415, and enzyme ratio of 16 U/g d.m. A statistical model was used to correlate the product yield with the process factors. Additionally, 19 interesting bioactive compounds were found in the enzymatic hydrolysis and alcoholic fermentation broths which seem likely to maintain natural defence mechanisms against diseases and physical disorders.

The aim of this study was to improve the quality of a vegetable oil, having in view its use as a quenchant for metallic parts in aircrafts. A process of pyrolysis under vacuum was applied to obtain a bio-oil with reduced viscosity and good quenching properties. Preliminarily, the rapeseed oil was fast pyrolyzed at temperature in the range of 300–375 °C and absolute pressure of 1 μbar. Some results such as viscosity and yields of bio-oil were obtained with a narrowing of the temperature range between 300–320 °C, for further processing. Quenching tests with bio-oils on stainless steel 25CD4 showed cooling curves closer to those of the standard mineral oil (Castrol IloquenchTM 1), by comparing them with unprocessed vegetable oil. The hardness of the steel after treatment rose from 29–30 HRC to 43–45 HRC, in accordance with requirements (35–45 HRC). Therefore, the conclusion is that bio-oils obtained by pyrolysis under vacuum are good quenchant proceeds from this study.