Extraction of microalgae oil by organic solvents: experimental determination and modeling of liquid–liquid equilibria using vegetable oils mixture as a model system

Tetradesmus obliquus microalgae: solvent extraction of lipids under different process conditions

“…Lipid extraction from microalgae is still a challenge (Amorim et al, 2020;Ebert et al, 2019;Grossmann et al, 2018;Law et al, 2018;Leal et al, 2021;Silva et al, 2021a, b;Vieira et al, 2021) since a stable emulsion is formed during lipid removal from biomass by nonpolar solvents. The emulsion stability can be due to microalgal compounds such as proteins.…”

“…Emulsions containing T. obliquus proteins showed greater stability in systems containing high NaCl concentrations and resistance to pH variation than emulsions with commercial whey and soy proteins (Silva et al, 2021a). This type of emulsion is desirable in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries; nevertheless, its formation is undesirable if the aim is to obtain lipid fractions without proteins and pigments for biofuel production, for example (Amorim et al, 2020;Ebert et al, 2019;Grossmann et al, 2018;Law et al, 2018;Leal et al, 2021;Silva et al, 2021a;Vieira et al, 2021).…”

“…Emulsion formation in microalgal lipid extraction can be avoided by using different solvents (ethyl acetate, hexane, petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol, ethanol) and mixtures of polar and nonpolar solvents in different proportions during lipid separation. This procedure can also promote system demulsification instead of using processes of high energy consumption such as centrifugation (Amorim et al, 2020;Ebert et al, 2019;Grossmann et al, 2018;Law et al, 2018;Leal et al, 2021;Silva et al, 2021a, b;Vieira et al, 2021). Therefore, it is necessary to elaborate strategies to reduce emulsion formation and stability to develop efficient lipid extraction processes.…”