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Cultivation of Green Microalgae in Bubble Column Photobioreactors and an Assay for Neutral Lipids
Published on: January 7, 2019
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What Is in Store for EPS Microalgae in the Next Decade?
Guillaume Pierre1, Cédric Delattre1,2, Pascal Dubessay1
1Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, SIGMA Clermont, Institut Pascal, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|November 29, 2019
Summary
Microalgae cultivation and ExoPolySaccharides (EPS) face challenges in scaling up for low-value markets. Innovative strategies are needed to overcome biological and engineering hurdles for successful microalgal biorefineries.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering
- Marine Biology and Phycology
- Sustainable Chemistry and Biorefining
Background:
- Microalgae and their metabolites have garnered significant scientific and industrial interest since 2000.
- Exploiting microalgal value, including ExoPolySaccharides (EPS), requires addressing bottlenecks in biomass production and downstream processing.
- Current biorefinery concepts struggle to commercialize low-value microalgal products due to process limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current state of microalgae and EPS production and exploitation.
- To critically analyze the challenges and limitations in developing microalgal EPS for industrial applications.
- To explore novel perspectives and future directions for microalgal EPS utilization.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of scientific works and industrial applications related to microalgae and EPS.
- Analysis of biological and biological engineering challenges in microalgal cultivation and processing.
- Critical evaluation of the economic viability and market competitiveness of microalgal EPS.
Main Results:
- Significant advancements in microalgal research and exploitation have been observed.
- Key challenges include biomass harvesting, media recycling, photoproduction, and biorefinery efficiency.
- Microalgal EPS face market competitiveness issues compared to terrestrial, macroalgal, and bacterial polysaccharides, particularly for low-value applications like food.
Conclusions:
- The exploitation of microalgal EPS for low-value markets is not yet mature.
- Overcoming biological and engineering bottlenecks is crucial for advancing microalgal biorefineries.
- Rethinking the exploitation strategies for microalgal EPS is necessary for future success.
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