Dataset for: Third-Generation Bioethanol from Marine Macroalgae: A Comparative Review of Pretreatment Techniques, Process Conditions, Fermentation Yields, and Integrated Valorization of Process Residues
Description
This dataset contains 33 fermentation performance observations for bioethanol production from marine macroalgae, compiled from 30 peer-reviewed studies (2012-2025). Of these, 24 observations report a directly usable numeric ethanol yield and are used in the taxonomic-division meta-analysis (Section 5.4) of the associated manuscript; the remaining 9 report only a sugar yield, substrate concentration, or qualitative outcome (or a yield that could not be confirmed against the primary source) and are retained for narrative completeness. The dataset accompanies the manuscript "Third-Generation Bioethanol from Marine Macroalgae: A Comparative Review of Pretreatment Techniques, Process Conditions, Fermentation Yields, and Integrated Valorization of Process Residues" (Luna Babilonia, E., prepared for submission to Biomass and Bioenergy, 2026). The file contains one sheet with the full dataset (species, pretreatment method, fermenting organism, reported ethanol yield or concentration, experimental conditions, inclusion status in the quantitative synthesis, and source reference for each observation) and one README sheet describing the normalization methodology used. Ethanol yields are expressed as percent of a theoretical maximum, using one of two constants depending on the basis of the originally reported value: 0.511 g ethanol per g free glucose or reducing sugar, or 0.568 g ethanol per g glucan or cellulose for values reported on a polysaccharide basis (this higher constant accounts for the water added during acid or enzymatic hydrolysis of the polymer to glucose). Where a source reported yield per gram of dry algal biomass rather than per gram of sugar, glucan, or cellulose, the value was first normalized using that source's own reported carbohydrate content before applying the appropriate constant. Values computed this way are marked with "~" in the yield column; values without "~" were reported directly as a percentage or yield coefficient by the original source.
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Steps to reproduce
Data were extracted from the 30 peer-reviewed studies listed in the "Reference" column of the Table 3 data sheet, following the search strategy described in Section 2 of the associated manuscript. For each study, the reported ethanol yield metric (percentage of theoretical conversion, g ethanol/L, or g ethanol/g substrate) was recorded as originally published. Where a study reported yield on a dry-algal-biomass basis rather than a sugar or polysaccharide basis, the value was normalized using that study's own reported carbohydrate content (see the "Normalization method" entry in the READ ME sheet for the two theoretical constants used). To reproduce the meta-analysis reported in Section 5.4 of the manuscript, filter the dataset to rows where "In synthesis" = Yes (24 observations), group by the first term in "Feedstock Species" corresponding to taxonomic division (Brown/Red/Green, as classified in Table 1 of the manuscript), and compute descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) per group.