Carotenoid Production from Microalgae: The Portuguese Scenario

Abstract

Microalgae have an outstanding capacity to efficiently produce value-added compounds. They have been inspiring researchers worldwide to develop a blue biorefinery, supporting the development of the bioeconomy, tackling the environmental crisis, and mitigating the depletion of natural resources. In this review, the characteristics of the carotenoids produced by microalgae are presented and the downstream processes developed to recover and purify them are analyzed, considering their main applications. The ongoing activities and initiatives taking place in Portugal regarding not only research, but also industrialization under the blue biorefinery concept are also discussed. The situation reported here shows that new techniques must be developed to make microalgae production more competitive. Downstream pigment purification technologies must be developed as they may have a considerable impact on the economic viability of the process. Government incentives are needed to encourage a constructive interaction between academics and businesses in order to develop a biorefinery that focuses on high-grade chemicals.

Keywords: Portuguese research; blue biorefinery; carotenoids; downstream processes; light-harvesting pigments; microalgae.

Figure 1

Array of product fields obtained from an algae biorefinery. Adapted with permission from the work of Zhu [21], published by Elsevier, 2015.

Figure 2

Distribution of the various biomasses used by Portuguese entities. It should be noted that a single entity can exploit multiple biomass sources. Adapted from the Blue Bioeconomy Roadmap for Portugal [30].

Figure 3

Example of commonly occurring carotenoids in algae. Carotene in the orange outline, xanthophylls—in the yellow outline.

Figure 4

Continuous tubular separator. (A) Pre-equilibrated phases and sample solution; (B) peristaltic pump; (C) phase mixer and turbulence generator; (D) continuous tubular separator; (E) pre-phase collector to help avoid turbulence in the phase collector; (F) phase collector with the interface harvesting port; and (G) collector flasks.