Squalene
Valorisation Option Factsheet
Product description
Squalene is a lipid, hydrocarbon with 30-carbon, which is the biochemical precursor to the whole family of steroids.
It’s an isoprenoid intermediate in the synthesis of the cholesterol, steroid hormones and vitamin D.
Squalene product is a 99.5 % pure extract of Shark Liver Oil. Currently its use is being discarded in favor of other more sustainable sources of obtaining as is the olive oil.
Product application
Squalene is used in cosmetics, such as moisturizing creams or sunscreens and in pharmacy as immune-stimulant or coadjuvant in vaccines.
As dietary supplement it is usually commercialized as shark liver oil. It’s said to act as anti-oxidant, antibiotic, anti-coagulant, anti-histaminic, digestive or immune stimulant among other effects.
Raw materials
Squalene is taken from the livers of three species of shark: the deep sea shark (Centrophorus squamosus), the dogfish (Sqaulus acanthias), and the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). The liver makes up about 25 % of the total shark body weight of these sharks.
Currently its use is being discarded in favor of other more sustainable sources of squalene like the olive oil.
Feasibility
Process Yield
Technology maturity
Value of Product
Potential Market
Production cost
Competing Companies
Simplified process Scheme
Citation :
Factsheet Squalene, Author(s) : Bruno Iñarra, Carlos Bald, Marta Cebrian
Bruno Iñarra, Carlos Bald, Marta Cebrian (2017). DiscardLess WP6.2 Evaluation of the different valorisation alternatives prioritized from the technical, market, regulatory and socio-economic perspective.
http://www.discardless.eu/Valorisation_module