An economic assessment of astaxanthin production by large scale cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis

• Published in: Biotechnology advances Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 568 - 574
• Main Authors: Li, Jian, Zhu, Daling, Niu, Jianfeng, Shen, Songdong, Wang, Guangce
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Inc 01.11.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Assessments; Astaxanthin; Biofuel production; Biofuels; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Bioreactors; Biotechnology; Biotechnology - economics; Biotechnology - instrumentation; Biotechnology - methods; Chlorophyta - metabolism; Cost engineering; cost estimates; Cultivation; Economics; Energy; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Haematococcus pluvialis; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Microalgae; Microalgae - metabolism; Outdoor; Photobioreactor; Photobioreactors - economics; Ponds; Process economics; production costs; Various methods and equipments; Xanthophylls - biosynthesis; Microalgae; Process economics; Biofuels; Astaxanthin; Photobioreactor; Haematococcus pluvialis; Algae; Biofuel; Bioreactor; Production; Economic aspect; Large scale; Operating process; Culture
• ISSN: 0734-9750; 1873-1899
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.04.001

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 2years to develop processes for astaxanthin production from Haematococcus. The developed processes were scaled up to a hypothetical plant with a production capacity about 900kg 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.