Aqueous enzymatic process for cell wall degradation and lipid extraction from Nannochloropsis sp.

• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.10.063
• Publication Date: 2016-10-22T06:46:10Z
• Authors: Chongchong Wu; Ye Xiao; Weiguo Lin; Jiaquan Li; Saisai Zhang; Junying Zhu; Junfeng Rong
• Keywords: Nannochloropsis; Degradation

An effective cell disruption method, including alkaline pretreatment and subsequent enzymatic treatment, was established to break cell walls and extract lipid from Nannochloropsis sp. A synergistic effect was found between alkaline pretreatment and enzymatic treatment. The combination of commercialize enzymes (cellulase, protease, lysozyme, and pectinase) achieved higher lipid yield compared with a single enzyme application. With the compromise between economic feasibility and lipid yield, the optimum reaction conditions were obtained with alkaline pretreatment at pH 10.5 at 110°C for 4h, and subsequent enzymatic treatment at pH 4 at 50°C for 30min with the dosage of each enzyme at 200IU/g. As high as 90.0% of lipid was extracted under optimal conditions from Nannochloropsis sp.