Document details

Fractioning macrocomponents of nannochloropsis oceanica by high-pressure homogenization, membrane processing, and ethanolic extraction

Author(s): Cunha, Pedro ; Carvalho, Bernardo ; Kholany, Mariam ; Cardoso, Helena ; Pereira, Hugo ; Varela, João

Date: 2026

Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/29247

Origin: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve

Project/scholarship: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB/04326/2020/PT; info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA/P/0101/2020/PT;

Subject(s): Microalgae; Multi-product fractionation; Mild processing; Process integration; High-pressure homogenization; Membrane filtration; Ethanolic extraction


Description

Multi-product biorefineries, which transform biomass feedstocks into multiple valuable bio-based products, are pivotal for transitioning from a fossil-based economy to a sustainable circular bioeconomy. This work proposes a processing pipeline for fractionating the macrocomponents of Nannochloropsis oceanica, which can serve as a basis for multi-product microalgae biorefineries. It consists of high-pressure homogenization (1200 bar, 1 cycle) to permeabilize the cells, and sequential membrane processing (0.2 µm dia-microfiltration followed by 100 kDa ultrafiltration) and ethanolic extraction (60 mL ethanol/g dry weight, 1 h) to fractionate the disrupted biomass. This biorefinery resulted in four final fractions: (1) enriched in water-soluble proteins (39.0 ± 2.8% w/w proteins; 10.7 ± 0.8% w/w carbohydrates); (2) remaining soluble components (5.7 ± 0.4% w/w proteins; 4.3 ± 0.9% w/w carbohydrates); (3) lipid-rich extract (62.4 ± 5.8% w/w lipids); and (4) non-extracted components (11.8 ± 4.5% w/w lipids), with mass recovery yields of 23.2 ± 2.1%, 6.9 ± 1.0%, 10.6 ± 1.9%, and 60.4 ± 4.1%, respectively. The ultrafiltration protein selectivity was not optimal, despite yielding a 2.6 times more concentrated fraction. Lipid extraction yield (35–60%) and purity (56–68%) were highly affected by the water content of the microfiltration retentate. Overall, 10.0 ± 0.9% of the proteins, 9.7 ± 1.8% of the carbohydrates, and 42.4 ± 13.4% of the lipids of N. oceanica were recovered in fractions 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Document Type Journal article
Language English
Contributor(s) Sapientia
CC Licence
facebook logo  linkedin logo  twitter logo 
mendeley logo

Related documents

No related documents