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Lipid and Biomass Distribution and Recovery from Two Microalgae by Aqueous and Alcohol Processing

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Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine lipid and biomass distribution during aqueous and alcohol processing of oleaginous microalgae, with the intention of fully extracting lipid from the dewatered cell paste. Two species, Nannochloropsis and Schizochytrium, were used. It is shown that most of the total lipid, 73% for Nannochloropsis and 87% for Schizochytrium, was held by the cell solids obtained by centrifugation during the aqueous process, justifying the need to develop a more effective lipid-extraction method. Use of ethanol at elevated temperature enabled efficient extraction of lipid from the cell mass and at the same time improved biomass precipitation and recovery in the solid or cake fraction. More than 68 and 95% of total lipid was recovered on a 50-g scale (as-is paste basis) from Nannochloropsis and Schizochytrium, respectively. Approximately 65% of the biomass was recovered in the solid fraction for both algae from the alcohol process, compared with the much lower biomass recovery, 38 and 16% for Nannochloropsis and Schizochytrium by the aqueous process. Therefore, oil and biomass fractionation by use of pure water is far less effective than fractionation by use of alcohol, and the alcohol process has great promise in algal oil recovery.

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Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank ConocoPhillips for funding this research, and Professor Zhiyou Wen of the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department at Iowa State University for providing the Schizochytrium cell paste.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, 2312 Food Sciences Building, Ames, IA, 50011-1061, USA

    Guang Wang & Tong Wang

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  1. Guang Wang
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  2. Tong Wang
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Correspondence to Tong Wang.

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Wang, G., Wang, T. Lipid and Biomass Distribution and Recovery from Two Microalgae by Aqueous and Alcohol Processing. J Am Oil Chem Soc 89, 335–345 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-011-1906-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-011-1906-9

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