CHAPTER 13: Microalgae: From Bio-based Curiosity Towards a Bulk Feedstock

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments in microalgae cultivation and downstream processing with a focus on microalgae biorefinery. Microalgae are promising feedstocks for the production of a variety of bulk compounds in the near future. Current process designs typically consist of microalgae cultivation, harvesting, cell disruption and finally a product extraction/fractionation step. For every unit operation, the latest insights are discussed. From this overview, the current state-of-development and future directions towards large scale bulk-chemical production from microalgae are discussed.