Developing a Sustainable and Scalable Defatting Protocol for Nannochloropsis oceanica: Isolating High-Quality Protein and Lipid Fractions

Abstract

The current research focuses on developing and optimizing the defatting protocols that lead to sustainable and industrially scalable isolation of two main components ofNannochloropsis oceanicamicroalga, i.e., lipid content and defatted biomass comprising primarily of proteins and polysaccharides. We introduce a simplified extraction protocol that includes treating the microalga powder with ethyl alcohol heated slightly below boiling point (∼70 °C) for a short time (1 h). Multiple runs (EP1-EP10) were performed during the defatting process optimization, followed by extensive characterization of the obtained isolates. The comparison of the properties between the products of EP3-EP10 runs and the commercial defatted biomass sample shows that several isolates have characteristic properties that are equal to or exceed those of the commercial sample, which creates the opportunity for further development of the defatted biomass isolates ofNannochloropsis oceanicaas a reliable alternative protein source.