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- LCA: A tool to develop sustainable microalgal biorefineriesPublication . Caetano, N.S.; Corrêa, P.S.; Morais Júnior, W. G.; Mata, T.M.; Martins, A.A.A.; Branco Vieira, M.Microalgae biorefineries, similar to oil refineries, are planned to exploit and maximize the value of microalgae biomass, producing as many products as possible. The biorefinery flowsheet can take different configurations, depending on the target products and the technologies to be applied. Due to the diversity of microalgae composition and strain phenotypic plasticity, some constraints can be faced for choosing the ideal candidate species. However, there are several alternatives to explore the potentiality of a strain that can make the biorefinery economically viable, environmentally friendly, and socially acceptable. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool that allows evaluating the environmental impacts of a product, process, or system, and should be used to assess the environmental performance of a planned biorefinery. When combined with life cycle costing (LCC) evaluation and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), LCA allows to take informed decisions on the most adequate biorefinery to implement. Nevertheless, and although many of the processes used in microalgae-based biorefineries are common to those used in other well-established industries, the biorefinery is an emerging area where usually novel technologies are required, some of them applied only on a pilot or a laboratory scale, making the available data limited or highly sensitive to variations. This chapter discusses the application of LCA to biorefineries, the potential hurdles, and limitations.
- Microalgae for pigments and cosmeticsPublication . Caetano, Nídia S.; Corrêa, Priscila S.; Morais Júnior, Wilson G. de; Oliveira, Gisela M.; Martins, Antonio A.A.; Branco-Vieira, Monique; Mata, Teresa M.Microalgae are among the most promising cell factories of the near future. Their renewable nature, and ability to rely on photosynthesis to use CO2 or nutrients from wastewater to grow and multiply, make them an emergent source of valuable natural compounds. Although in the past, a few of these microalgae have been known for their value as a source of proteins, carbohydrates, exopolysaccharides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, recently they have also been found increasingly important sources of more valuable compounds such as carotenoids, of which astaxanthin, lutein and β-carotene are of extreme importance in food, feed and cosmeceutical industries, and phycobiliproteins, chlorophylls, that are finding their place in the commercial market. There are still various challenges to be addressed to make sustainable the production of some of these valuable bioproducts. However, the circular economy and the biorefinery approach are at the center of the whole process to make the microalgae-based industry one of the most dynamic, modern and profitable industries. In this chapter it will be presented the potential microalgae sources of these valuable compounds, existing industrial applications, as well as the major ongoing research projects, and their contribution driving the blue bioeconomy.