Microalgae biorefinery: High value products perspectives.
Kit Wayne Chew, Jing Ying Yap, Pau Loke Show, Ng Hui Suan, Joon Ching Juan, Tau Chuan Ling, Duu-Jong Lee, Jo-Shu Chang
Author Information
Kit Wayne Chew: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia; Nanotechnology & Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT), University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Jing Ying Yap: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Pau Loke Show: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia; Food and Pharmaceutical Engineering Research Group, Molecular Pharming and Bioproduction Research Group, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Ng Hui Suan: Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, UCSI Heights, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Joon Ching Juan: Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis and Environmental Technology, Monash University Sunway Campus, Malaysia; Nanotechnology & Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT), University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tau Chuan Ling: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Duu-Jong Lee: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Jo-Shu Chang: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan; Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan. Electronic address: changjs@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
Microalgae have received much interest as a biofuel feedstock in response to the uprising energy crisis, climate change and depletion of natural sources. Development of microalgal biofuels from microalgae does not satisfy the economic feasibility of overwhelming capital investments and operations. Hence, high-value co-products have been produced through the extraction of a fraction of algae to improve the economics of a microalgae biorefinery. Examples of these high-value products are pigments, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins and anti-oxidants, with applications in cosmetics, nutritional and pharmaceuticals industries. To promote the sustainability of this process, an innovative microalgae biorefinery structure is implemented through the production of multiple products in the form of high value products and biofuel. This review presents the current challenges in the extraction of high value products from microalgae and its integration in the biorefinery. The economic potential assessment of microalgae biorefinery was evaluated to highlight the feasibility of the process.
