Extraction Technologies from Diatoms

In light of the drastic CO2 emissions brought about by fossil fuel combustion for energy production and the eventual depletion of this energy source, this chapter reveals the novel integration of nanotechnology into extraction technologies used in obtaining valuable compounds from microalgae. The characteristics of the microalgae, and their lipid and cell wall components are investigated, as well as the various techniques for cell wall pretreatment and lipid (or valuable compounds) extraction techniques. Electrolysis and liquid biphasic flotation (LBF), in particular, as the pretreatment and extraction techniques are also reviewed thoroughly along with their working principles and the combination of both techniques. Furthermore, the characteristics of nanobubbles are discussed to gain an insight into their predicted behavior when incorporated into the LBF technique, in place of micro-sized bubbles conventionally used in LBF extractions. This chapter also includes the effects of various factors in the LBF on the lipid recovery yield. Overall, this simultaneous approach to pretreatment and extraction coupled with the novel usage of nanobubbling is expected to recover a high portion of lipids in the biomass, given the success of previous liquid bioseparation studies and the favorable properties of nanobubbles in the proposed system.