Challenges and prospects of yeast-based microbial oil production within a biorefinery concept

Abstract

Biodiesel, unlike to its fossil-based homologue (diesel), is renewable. Its use contributes to greater sustainability in the energy sector, mainly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Current biodiesel production relies on plant- and animal-related feedstocks, resulting in high final costs to the prices of those raw materials. In addition, the production of those materials competes for arable land and has provoked a heated debate involving their use food vs. fuel. As an alternative, single-cell oils (SCOs) obtained from oleaginous microorganisms are attractive sources as a biofuel precursor due to their high lipid content, and composition similar to vegetable oils and animal fats. To make SCOs competitive from an economic point of view, the use of readily available low-cost substrates becomes essential. This work reviews the most recent advances in microbial oil production from non-synthetic sugar-rich media, particularly sugars from lignocellulosic wastes, highlighting the main challenges and prospects for deploying this technology fully in the framework of a Biorefinery concept.

Keywords: Biofuel; Biowaste; Circular bioeconomy; Lignocellulose; Microbial oil; Oleaginous yeast.

Fig. 1

Yeast cell factory for microbial oil production and value-add co-products

Fig. 2

Important aspects requiring further investigation towards reaching cost-effective microbial oil production