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. 2018 Sep 5:20:e00280.
doi: 10.1016/j.btre.2018.e00280. eCollection 2018 Dec.

Stepwise extraction of high-value chemicals from Arthrospira (Spirulina) and an economic feasibility study

Ratana Chaiklahan  1 , Nattayaporn Chirasuwan  1 , Veara Loha  2 , Suvit Tia  2 , Boosya Bunnag  1   3
Affiliations

Stepwise extraction of high-value chemicals from Arthrospira (Spirulina) and an economic feasibility study

Ratana Chaiklahan et al. Biotechnol Rep (Amst). .

Erratum in

Abstract

Arthrospira (Spirulina) consists of diverse high-value chemicals, such as phycocyanin, lipids/total fatty acids (TFA), and polysaccharides, which have been used for food, cosmetic and pharmacological applications. This study compared various stepwise extraction processes for these high-value chemicals. Considering the yield and properties of extracts, the most suitable extraction order was phycocyanin, lipid/TFA and polysaccharides. The yield of the main product (food-grade phycocyanin) was 8.66% of the biomass dry weight, whereas the yields of the subsequent lipid/TFA and polysaccharide coproducts were 3.55% and 0.72%, respectively. The economic analysis showed that producing phycocyanin alone was economically feasible, but producing coproducts (lipid/TFA and polysaccharides) was not. The production cost of phycocyanin was US$ 249.70 kg-1, which is an encouraging figure for large-scale production. Moreover, the phycocyanin content of Arthrospira materials utilized for extraction should not be lower than 15% of dry weight to ensure positive the net present value (NPV) of investment.

Keywords: Arthrospira (Spirulina); Economic feasibility; Lipid/TFA; Phycocyanin; Polysaccharide.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic diagram of the stepwise extraction.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Process flow for producing high-value compounds from Arthrospira.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Economic analysis of high-value chemicals from Arthrospira at a production capacity of 600 kg/year (A) and 3000 kg/year (B).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Contribution of the operating costs of the phycocyanin extracts.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Sensitivity analysis of phycocyanin content (PC) of algal material (A), percentage of phycocyanin recovery (B) and the investment by loan (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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