College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, P.R. China.
Biotechnol Adv. 2011 Nov-Dec;29(6):568-74. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.04.001. Epub 2011 Apr 9.
Although natural sources have long been exploited for astaxanthin production, it is still uncertain if natural astaxanthin can be produced at lower cost than that of synthetic astaxanthin or not. In order to give a comprehensive cost analysis of astaxanthin production from Haematococcus, a pilot plant with two large scale outdoor photobioreactors and a raceway pond was established and operated for 2 years to develop processes for astaxanthin production from Haematococcus. The developed processes were scaled up to a hypothetical plant with a production capacity about 900 kg astaxanthin per year, and the process economics was preliminarily assessed. Based on the analysis, the production cost of astaxanthin and microalgae biomass can be as low as $718/kg and $18/kg respectively. The results are very encouraging because the estimated cost might be lower than that of chemically synthesized astaxanthin.
尽管天然资源长期以来一直被用于虾青素的生产，但目前仍不确定天然虾青素的生产成本是否低于合成虾青素。为了全面分析从雨生红球藻生产虾青素的成本，建立了一个拥有两个大型户外光生物反应器和一个养殖池的中试工厂，并运营了两年，以开发从雨生红球藻生产虾青素的工艺。开发的工艺已扩大到一个具有年产约 900 公斤虾青素的假想工厂，并对其进行了初步的工艺经济性评估。基于该分析，虾青素和微藻生物质的生产成本分别低至 718 美元/千克和 18 美元/千克。这些结果非常令人鼓舞，因为估计的成本可能低于化学合成虾青素。
