Force and energy requirement for microalgal cell disruption: an atomic force microscope evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Bioenergy
• Marine Biology

Background:

• Cell disruption is crucial for extracting cellular contents, particularly for microalgal biofuels.
• Current mechanical cell disruption methods are energy-intensive, posing challenges for sustainable production of low-value commodities like microalgal biofuels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the force and energy required to disrupt individual cells of the marine microalga Tetraselmis suecica using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).
• To compare the energy efficiency of AFM-based cell disruption with existing mechanical methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to measure the force and energy needed for indentation and disruption of individual Tetraselmis suecica cells.
• Calculated the specific energy requirement in Joules per kilogram (J kg(-1)) of dry microalgal biomass.

Main Results:

• The average force and energy for cell indentation and disruption by AFM was found to be 17.43 pJ.
• This energy requirement is equivalent to 673 J kg(-1) of dry microalgal biomass.
• Existing mechanical cell disruption processes, like hydrodynamic cavitation, require energy approximately 5 orders of magnitude greater than that measured by AFM.

Conclusions:

• Existing mechanical cell disruption technologies are highly energy-inefficient for microalgal biofuel production.
• AFM measurements indicate a significantly lower energy threshold for cell disruption.
• Further research and innovation are essential to develop sustainable and energy-efficient methods for microalgal biomass processing.