JEDDAH: Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have discovered a new use for an ancient organism, converting chocolate factory waste into C-phycocyanin, a valuable blue pigment projected to have a global market value of over $275 million by 2030.

The study, published in “Trends in Biotechnology,” shows that Galdieria yellowstonensis, an ancient red algae strain, can consume sugars in chocolate-processing waste to grow into protein-rich biomass containing C-phycocyanin, which is used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

The researchers also found that high levels of carbon dioxide unexpectedly boost Galdieria growth, even though carbon dioxide is normally a waste byproduct of microbial sugar consumption.

Kyle Lauersen, an associate professor at KAUST and lead author of the study, said: “Our work studying the metabolism of algae is uncovering new ways to turn waste into valuable products sustainably. Chocolate production, for example, generates waste when process lines start and stop. We realized this waste could be a useful food for Galdieria.”

The release highlighted that phycocyanin from Galdieria, of which C-phycocyanin is one type, was recently deemed food-safe by the US Food and Drug Administration and is suitable for beverages and other food applications.

However, compared to conventional methods for phycocyanin, which use cyanobacteria, the KAUST method using Galdieria can significantly reduce costs and increase yields because the hot and highly acidic environment in which Galdieria thrive can reduce the presence of other microbes.

Lauersen’s team collected waste from a Saudi chocolate factory for its experiments. The team plans to further develop the process, evaluating scalability and technical capacity on locally available wastes to help Saudi businesses advance toward a circular carbon economy.