Obtención de alginato de sodio a partir de algas de agua dulce de la familia Zygnemataceae, mediante reacciones de intercambio iónico para ser utilizado como gelificante.

Abstract

The present work used freshwater algae as raw material, belonging to the family Zygnemataceae, as a source of sodium alginate generally used as a gelling agent; the product was obtained at the laboratory level in order to determine its yield per gram of dry seaweed, the viscosity produced by the alginate in a solution was also determined. To obtain sodium alginate it was used the methodology of Hernández Carmona et al. (1999), based on ion exchange reactions; which include processes such as preextraction, extraction, precipitation, conversion to sodium alginate, purification and drying. The main reason why the production of alginate with this raw material has not started is due to its low yield. In this investigation, average yields of 6.08% and a viscosity of 18.12 cP were obtained, considered unfavorable results in terms of production costs, compared with values traditionally obtained with algal Macrocystis pyrifera, which reach peaks of yield up to 35% and viscosities that range from 500 cP. However, the impact on environmental control justifies its use, since, at the same time, it is possible to control the rapid growth of algae considered as weeds in individual water bodies, affecting the quality of water destined for human consumption in certain rural localities of Ecuador. In this way, two fronts of environmental control were covered, in addition to producing a product desired by the industry.