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Evaluation of near-ambient algal biomass fractionation conditions for bioproduct development

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Abstract

This contribution describes an algal fractionation scheme based on cell lysing and carbohydrate hydrolysis under acidic conditions, coupled with solvent extraction, that produces algal lipids, carbohydrates, and proteinaceous solid from partially dewatered algal biomass. A design of experiments analysis was employed to identify the effect of fractionation conditions on the yields of the three product streams. By selection of appropriate conditions, the process can be steered from simple lipid extraction to near complete fractionation of the biomass. Lipid purification and upgrading were respectively achieved with a low-cost adsorbent and an inexpensive Ni-based catalyst that deoxygenated the lipids via decarboxylation/decarbonylation, an approach offering several advantages over the hydrodeoxygenation-based processes typically employed to convert lipids to hydrocarbons. The proteinaceous solids obtained were found to have much lower ash content as well as higher protein content relative to the untreated algae, enhancing the suitability of this material as a feedstock for the production of bioplastics.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Prof. Seth DeBolt for carbohydrate analysis. The United States Department of Energy (award no. DE-FE0029623) is thanked for financial support.

Funding

Funding was provided by the United States Department of Energy (award no. DE-FE0029623).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, 2540 Research Park Drive, Lexington, KY, 40511, USA

    Robert Pace, Stephanie Kesner, Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez, Tonya Morgan, Molly Frazar, Vincent Kelly & Mark Crocker

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA

    Robert Pace, Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez & Mark Crocker

  3. Algix LLC, 5168 Water Tower Road, Meridian, MS, 39301, USA

    M. Ashton Zeller

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  1. Robert Pace
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  2. Stephanie Kesner
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Robert Pace, Mark Crocker; formal analysis and investigation: Robert Pace, Stephanie Kesner, Tonya Morgan, Molly Frazar, Vincent Kelly; writing: Robert Pace, Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez; writing—review and editing: Robert Pace, Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez, Mark Crocker, M. Ashton Zeller; funding acquisition: Mark Crocker; resources: Mark Crocker; supervision: Mark Crocker.

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Correspondence to Mark Crocker.

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This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

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Pace, R., Kesner, S., Santillan-Jimenez, E. et al. Evaluation of near-ambient algal biomass fractionation conditions for bioproduct development. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 131–140 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-01090-5

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