title: Cationic surfactant-based method for simultaneous harvesting and cell disruption of a microalgal biomass.
abstract: Microalgae are one of the most promising sustainable energy sources for biodiesel production. However, the high costs of the downstream process are a major bottleneck for commercial-scale production of biodiesel from a microalgal biomass. A novel approach called the cationic surfactant-based harvesting and cell disruption (CSHD) method was studied to determine its effectiveness in simultaneous microalgal biomass harvesting and cell disruption. Using CSHD, the harvesting efficiency reached more than 91% in less than 5 min and 97% in 90 min. Moreover, CSHD exhibited a powerful ability to disrupt the cells; the lipid recovery was increased 133% compared to not using CSHD. CSHD allowed the extraction of up to 100% of the total lipids from a wet microalgal biomass with 80% water content. All of these results were achieved without using energy-intensive equipment. Altogether, our results suggest that CSHD is an energy-efficient technique for the downstream process of microalgal lipid production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, Yuseong-Gu, Guseong-Duong, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Wen-Can
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jong-Duk
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002412:Cations; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D000077286:Cetrimonium; D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D002708:Chlorella / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D058086:Microalgae / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D000077286:Cetrimonium
keywords: Cationic surfactant; Cell disruption; Fatty acid methyl ester; Harvesting; Microalgae