High-value chemicals from marine diatoms: A biorefinery approach

Abstract

Nowadays, we are going a step forward into the new era for the sustainable production of industrial commodity products such as energy, fine-chemicals, active compounds and materials from renewable biomass. Marine diatoms offer great potential as an untapped living factory for the generation of valuable commodity chemicals. As a photosynthetic microorganism, diatoms contain pigments, which have a high market value in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food colorant industries. Their unique metabolism to utilize the soluble silicate in seawater for their porous silica cell wall (frustule) opens an opportunity for the nano-porous material industry. Diatom's lipids consist fatty acids, which could be catalytically upgraded into high-quality fuels like fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) or hydrocarbons (green diesel). In the analysis reported here, we present the potential of biorefinery pathways of valuable components in marine diatoms. Understanding the biochemistry of them and the application of their valuable chemicals are discussed to gain insights for the opportunities and the key barriers in the development of marine diatoms-based biorefinery.