Energy-efficient extraction of fuel and chemical feedstocks from algaeElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2gc16225c

Microscopic algae occupies every photic niche on Earth and provides an efficient and inherently scalable sunlight energy capture and chemical storage mechanism. However, fuel production from algae remains outside economic viability due to limitations in biomass cultivation and feedstock extraction....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Teixeira, Rodrigo E
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Microscopic algae occupies every photic niche on Earth and provides an efficient and inherently scalable sunlight energy capture and chemical storage mechanism. However, fuel production from algae remains outside economic viability due to limitations in biomass cultivation and feedstock extraction. In particular, extraction strategies require prohibitive energy inputs to breach the cell wall and separate lipids, while underutilizing polysaccharide- and protein-rich leftovers. Also due to focus on lipids, cultivars become either unstable or unproductive. Meanwhile, recent advances have demonstrated the synthesis of a variety of fuels and other chemicals from sugars and proteins. Here, the energy-efficient deconstruction of algae cell walls, resulting in release of cell contents, is reported. This occurs by dissolution and hydrolysis of wet algae biomass in ionic liquids without acids, bases or other catalysts. Deconstruction reached completion in
ISSN:1463-9262
1463-9270
DOI:10.1039/c2gc16225c