Biorefinery · 2 July 2026
The valuable compounds are inside — and some algae guard them with remarkably tough walls. How to choose a disruption strategy.
Many of the most valuable molecules in algae — oils, pigments, proteins — sit inside the cell. Getting them out starts with breaking the cell wall, and that is often the most energy-hungry step of the whole process.
Walls vary enormously. Spirulina has a fragile envelope that breaks easily; Chlorella and Nannochloropsis can carry tough, multi-layered walls that resist both mechanical and chemical attack.
Mechanical methods such as high-pressure homogenisers and bead mills are scalable and solvent-free. Ultrasound works well at small scale. Enzymes can be gentle and selective, but add cost and time.
The right choice depends on the target compound, its sensitivity to heat and oxidation, and what else you want to recover. In a biorefinery, disruption should protect the fractions you plan to extract next.