Brown seaweed
Sodium alginate
Laminaria hyperborea and Laminaria digitata — Sodium Alginate
The default Run below is Western Norway, 5.26 kgCO2e/kg gross, Category B. Published values for this ingredient span 4.80 to 15.20 kgCO2e/kg, which is why a number without its production parameters is not worth forwarding.
Species record
- Species
- Laminaria hyperborea and Laminaria digitata
- INCI name
- Sodium Alginate
- Group
- Brown seaweed
- Harvest methods
- Wild trawl and scoubidou harvest. Alkali extraction, precipitation, drying
- Conservation status
- Not assessed by IUCN. Quota managed in Norway and France.
- Typical uses
- Food hydrocolloid, wound care, textile printing, encapsulation.
- Declared unit
- One kilogram of food-grade sodium alginate powder.
- Typical gross range
- 4.80 to 15.20 kgCO2e/kg, Category B
- Default sourcing region
- Western Norway, Route distance, Bergen to Rotterdam gate
- Extraction yield near 25% of dry biomass means every upstream kilogram counts 28 times.
- Process chemicals are a material share of Scope 3 and are listed line by line in the Report.
Calculator
Seven inputs, every one already filled with a regional default. Change the two or three you know. Nothing is submitted and nothing is saved.
Line-item inventory
| Line | Scope | kgCO2e/kg |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest and vessel fuel28.0 kg wet biomass at 2.64 l diesel per tonne2.68 kgCO2e/litre · IPCC 2006 Guidelines Vol. 2 stationary and mobile combustion, AR6 GWP100 · Category B | 1 | 0.198 |
| Drying energy6.34 kWh/kg on the Norway grid0.0290 kgCO2e/kWh · IEA Emission Factors 2024, national average generation intensity · Category B | 2 | 0.184 |
| Extraction, milling and utilities6.86 kWh/kg on the Norway grid0.0290 kgCO2e/kWh · IEA Emission Factors 2024, national average generation intensity · Category B | 2 | 0.199 |
| Fuel supply chain, well-to-tank0.074 l diesel upstream0.64 kgCO2e/litre · UK DESNZ conversion factors 2024, WTT diesel · Category B | 3 | 0.047 |
| Harvest gear and cultivation inputsGear, seed and nutrients, amortised. Extraction reagents are itemised separately below0.090 kgCO2e/kg · Published alginate extraction LCA literature, gross cradle-to-gate. · Category B | 3 | 0.090 |
| Process chemicals, sodium carbonate1.500 kg per kg finished. Alkaline extraction of the alginate into solution1.24 kgCO2e/kg · Chemical-sector cradle-to-gate LCA for Solvay-process sodium carbonate, European market average · Category B | 3 | 1.860 |
| Process chemicals, hydrochloric acid1.200 kg per kg finished. Acid pre-treatment of the biomass and alginic acid precipitation0.90 kgCO2e/kg · Chemical-sector cradle-to-gate LCA, by-product hydrochloric acid, European market average · Category B | 3 | 1.080 |
| Process chemicals, calcium chloride0.600 kg per kg finished. Calcium alginate precipitation route0.85 kgCO2e/kg · Chemical-sector cradle-to-gate LCA, Solvay by-product route · Category B | 3 | 0.510 |
| Process chemicals, sodium hypochlorite0.400 kg per kg finished. Bleaching to food-grade colour specification1.10 kgCO2e/kg · Chlor-alkali derivative cradle-to-gate LCA. Dose varies widely by plant, so graded C · Category C | 3 | 0.440 |
| Process chemicals, ethanol0.150 kg per kg finished. Wash and dewatering, make-up volume net of recovery1.60 kgCO2e/kg · Fermentation ethanol cradle-to-gate LCA. Only make-up volume is charged; recovery rate is plant-specific, so graded C · Category C | 3 | 0.240 |
| Inbound haul, wet biomass28.0 kg over 90 km by road, Western Norway0.096 kgCO2e/t-km · GLEC Framework v3.0 default, >32t diesel truck · Category B | 3 | 0.242 |
| Outbound freight, finished ingredient1 kg over 1,450 km, road freight, heavy goods0.096 kgCO2e/t-km · GLEC Framework v3.0 default, >32t diesel truck · Category B | 3 | 0.139 |
| Packaging0.025 kg kraft multiwall paper sack per kg1.10 kgCO2e/kg · Published European kraft sack paper EPD range, mid-point · Category C | 3 | 0.028 |
| Gross footprint | 1+2+3 | 5.257 |
Every factor and its source is printed in the Report. The full factor set is on the Methodology page.
Gross footprint, cradle-to-gate
Species-specific secondary data with named sources, applied to your stated production parameters.
Scope 1
3.8%
Harvest and fuel
Scope 2
7.3%
Purchased electricity
Scope 3
88.9%
Upstream and freight
Largest lever: process chemicals, sodium carbonate, 1.86 kgCO2e/kg of the total, Category B.
Batch total for 2,000 kg: 10,513.7 kgCO2e
Biogenic uptake
1.55 kgCO2e/kg
Reported separately. Non-permanent. Not subtracted.
Land-based comparison
Bluecarbon Methodology 2026.2, Category B.
Published dairy protein LCA range, mid-point. Category C.
Published livestock LCA range, mid-point. Category C.
Published bovine hide and bone processing LCA range, mid-point. Category C.
Blue Bioeconomy Score: 0.0th percentile within the peer set of 6 brown seaweed defaults in this database, Methodology 2026.2.
Get the Report
€390- Line-item inventory, every emission factor with its source
- Gross footprint with its Category grade, and the Scope 1/2/3 split
- Biogenic uptake reported separately, never subtracted
- Peer set and Blue Bioeconomy Score, with the peer set named
- Reduction section, quantified in kgCO2e/kg
- Methodology version, limitations, and the colophon
One ingredient, one Run, Laminaria hyperborea and Laminaria digitata, Category B. Nothing recurs.
Nothing was saved. Copy the link to this Run to come back to it.