High-value products from microalgae—Unlocking the potential for large-scale commercialization

Microalgae are a sustainable source for the commercial production of nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and pharmaceutical industries. In order to obtain the optimum yields, current focus should be to develop a process chain that revolves around cost-efficiency and ease of up-scaling to develop holistic microalgal biorefineries. Enhanced biomass yield through optimization of nutrient composition, light intensity, agitation, cultivation techniques, or genetic engineering is one of the promising solutions. Conventional techniques majorly catered to increased production of a single HVAC or a single class of HVACs only. The modern microalgal biorefinery approach is focused on the enhanced production of multiple products along with waste biomass utilization that may help to fit the cost economics. Innovative interventions in the downstreaming processes also need to be tested at a large scale to get a better outlook on their integrity for commercialization. The physical methods on one side have a superior harvesting efficiency but with high cost and energy consumption. Chemical methods are cheaper and fastidious but pose a threat to the environment. Greener techniques such as NADES or supercritical fluid extraction are eco-friendly and can be explored in greater depths. The same efforts should also be made for biological downstream processes to overcome their low visibility in commercial market. Combination of two or more approaches has yielded better productivity and can be a lead to further research. Ultimately, through optimal process design and a comprehensive study of microalgal cell’s intracellular functions, the establishment of potent photosynthetic cell-factories is feasible.