Gallego Irene, Medic Nikola, Pedersen Jakob Skov, Ramasamy Praveen Kumar, Robbens Johan, Vereecke Elke, Romeis Jörg
Research Division Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland.
Center for Bioresources, Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Taastrup, Denmark.
N Biotechnol. 2025 May 25;86:1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.nbt.2025.01.002. Epub 2025 Jan 6.
Microalgae are a diverse group of photosynthetic microorganisms that can be exploited to produce sustainable food and feed products, alleviate environmental pollution, or sequester CO to mitigate climate change, among other uses. To optimize resource use and integrate industrial waste streams, it is essential to consider factors such as the biology and cultivation parameters of the microalgal strains, as well as the cultivation system and processing technologies employed. This paper reviews the main commercial applications of microalgae (including cyanobacteria) and examines the biological and biotechnological aspects critical to the sustainable processing of microalgal biomass and its derived compounds. We also provide an up-to-date overview of the microalgal sector in Europe considering the strain, cultivation system and commercial application. We have identified 146 different microalgal-derived products from 66 European microalgae producers, and 49 additional companies that provide services and technologies, such as optimization and scalability of the microalgal production. The most widely cultivated microalga is 'spirulina' (Limnospira spp.), followed by Chlorella spp. and Nannochloropsis spp., mainly for human consumption and cosmetics. The preferred cultivation system in Europe is the photobioreactor. Finally, we discuss the logistic and regulatory challenges of producing microalgae at industrial scale, particularly in the European Union, and explore the potential of new genomic techniques and bioprocessing to foster a sustainable bioeconomy in the microalgal sector.
微藻是一类多样的光合微生物，可用于生产可持续的食品和饲料产品、减轻环境污染或封存二氧化碳以缓解气候变化等多种用途。为了优化资源利用并整合工业废物流，考虑微藻菌株的生物学特性和培养参数以及所采用的培养系统和加工技术等因素至关重要。本文综述了微藻（包括蓝细菌）的主要商业应用，并探讨了对微藻生物质及其衍生化合物的可持续加工至关重要的生物学和生物技术方面。我们还提供了欧洲微藻领域的最新概况，涵盖菌株、培养系统和商业应用。我们从66家欧洲微藻生产商以及另外49家提供微藻生产优化和扩大规模等服务与技术的公司中，识别出了146种不同的微藻衍生产品。种植最广泛的微藻是“螺旋藻”（节旋藻属），其次是小球藻属和微拟球藻属，主要用于人类消费和化妆品。欧洲首选的培养系统是光生物反应器。最后，我们讨论了在工业规模上生产微藻的物流和监管挑战，特别是在欧盟，并探讨了新基因组技术和生物加工促进微藻领域可持续生物经济的潜力。
