Chapter 13
Process Intensification Aspects
of Extraction of Pigments
from Microalgae
Parag R. Gogate and Saurabh M. Joshi
Abstract Currently, microalgae are in significant focus as a potential source for
value added products like pigments, lipids and carbohydrates. Microalgae can be
grown quickly without competition to food chain on non-arable land with lesser
requirement of nutrients and beneficial utilisation of greenhouse gas (GHG) . Among
the different value added products from algae, pigment offer immense potential.
Chlorophylls, carotenoids and phycobiliproteins are the classes of pigments found
in varied proportions in different microalgae strains. Zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, fucoxanthin, lutein, chlorophyll a and carotenes are some of the specific commercially
important pigments possessing higher value in food and pharmaceutical industry
market. It is important to note that the conventional pigment extraction processes
such as bead-beating, homogenisers, etc. have not been very successful at commercial level due to high costs. Thus, evaluating process intensification approaches for
increased process efficiency are necessary. Process intensification plays a crucial
role in minimising process cost with significant reduction in quantum of chemicals
required and processing time. The current chapter focuses on presenting overview of
novel intensified separations with consideration of the governing mechanisms, set of
best operating conditions and also detailed literature review to highlight the obtained
benefits. It is demonstrated that significant intensification benefits are obtained based
on the application of newer approaches and scaling it up to commercial scale will
indeed lead to favourable economics for the recovery of pigments from microalgae.
Keywords Microalgae · Process intensification · Pigments · Carotenoids ·
Operating parameters
13.1 Introduction
Microalgae are unicellular microscopic organisms with a potential source of highvalue products such as proteins, lipids and pigments. Microalgae are grown in closed
P. R. Gogate (B) · S. M. Joshi
Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Chemical Technology, N P Marg, Mumbai
400019, India
e-mail: pr.gogate@ictmumbai.edu.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Pigments from Microalgae Handbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50971-2_13
309
Process Intensification Aspects
of Extraction of Pigments
from Microalgae
Parag R. Gogate and Saurabh M. Joshi
Abstract Currently, microalgae are in significant focus as a potential source for
value added products like pigments, lipids and carbohydrates. Microalgae can be
grown quickly without competition to food chain on non-arable land with lesser
requirement of nutrients and beneficial utilisation of greenhouse gas (GHG) . Among
the different value added products from algae, pigment offer immense potential.
Chlorophylls, carotenoids and phycobiliproteins are the classes of pigments found
in varied proportions in different microalgae strains. Zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, fucoxanthin, lutein, chlorophyll a and carotenes are some of the specific commercially
important pigments possessing higher value in food and pharmaceutical industry
market. It is important to note that the conventional pigment extraction processes
such as bead-beating, homogenisers, etc. have not been very successful at commercial level due to high costs. Thus, evaluating process intensification approaches for
increased process efficiency are necessary. Process intensification plays a crucial
role in minimising process cost with significant reduction in quantum of chemicals
required and processing time. The current chapter focuses on presenting overview of
novel intensified separations with consideration of the governing mechanisms, set of
best operating conditions and also detailed literature review to highlight the obtained
benefits. It is demonstrated that significant intensification benefits are obtained based
on the application of newer approaches and scaling it up to commercial scale will
indeed lead to favourable economics for the recovery of pigments from microalgae.
Keywords Microalgae · Process intensification · Pigments · Carotenoids ·
Operating parameters
13.1 Introduction
Microalgae are unicellular microscopic organisms with a potential source of highvalue products such as proteins, lipids and pigments. Microalgae are grown in closed
P. R. Gogate (B) · S. M. Joshi
Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Chemical Technology, N P Marg, Mumbai
400019, India
e-mail: pr.gogate@ictmumbai.edu.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Pigments from Microalgae Handbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50971-2_13
309