Priority-based multiple products from microalgae: review on techniques and strategies.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Renewable Energy
• Biorefinery

Background:

• Microalgal biomass offers valuable metabolites for biofuels, proteins, carbohydrates, and colorants.
• Commercial production is often economically infeasible for single products, necessitating multi-product strategies.
• High-value products like carotenoids and phycobiliproteins are exceptions, but integrated approaches are needed for broader applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review strategies for simultaneous, priority-based extraction of multiple products from microalgal biomass.
• To discuss the role of advanced cell disruption and biomass fractionation techniques.
• To address the lack of consolidated reports on these integrated approaches.

Main Methods:

• Focus on advanced extraction techniques: three-phase partitioning (TPP), aqueous two-phase separation, membrane separation, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE).
• Analysis of cell disruption mechanisms for selective metabolite release and bioactivity preservation.
• Evaluation of biomass fractionation strategies based on product priorities.

Main Results:

• Conventional downstream processing is inefficient for integrated microalgal fractionation.
• Advanced techniques like TPP, SFE, and PLE show promise for efficient multi-product extraction.
• Effective cell disruption is crucial for metabolite recovery and maintaining molecular integrity.

Conclusions:

• Simultaneous multi-product extraction from microalgae is essential for economic feasibility.
• Advanced separation techniques offer improved efficiency and selectivity over conventional methods.
• Further research and consolidated reporting are needed to optimize integrated microalgal biorefineries.