A Sustainable Approach to Macroalgae and Microalgae: From Cultivation to Compound Recovery and Biotechnological Applications
A special issue of BioTech (ISSN 2673-6284). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Biotechnology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2026) | Viewed by 6267
Special Issue Editors
Interests: marine biotechnology; micro- and macroalgae; photobioreactors and culture condition optimization; bioactive compound extraction and optimization; bioactive compound application; micro- and macroalga application; biorefinery; sustainability
Interests: macroalgae ecology and physiology; macroalgae aquaculture; IMTA; marine forest conservation and recovery
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue intends to address the recent advances related to macroalgae and microalgae, from their cultivation and harvest to compound extraction and functional ingredient recovery, as well as their application in greener and more sustainable contexts. The importance of macroalgae and microalgae production has been increasing globally, not only due to their significant ecological role but also because their biomass and compounds have a wide range of biotechnological applications including in the food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, feed, cosmetics, and agricultural industries. From a cultivation perspective, macroalgae/microalgae farming offers other potential benefits including nutrient bioremediation (the removal of nutrients from aquaculture effluents for biomass growth) and a climate benefit as CO2 mitigators, in addition to the above-mentioned role as a source of ingredients for food and nutraceutical products, as well as as biofertilizer and biostimulant for agriculture. Therefore, insights into new techniques for seaweed and microalgae production and processing are relevant to this Issue, particularly on how the whole process can be made more sustainable. In addition, the subsequent steps regarding harvesting, specifically the extraction of compounds of interest and functional ingredients, i.e., pigments, polysaccharides, antioxidants, phenolic compounds, and proteins, are usually considered one of the most expensive in algal-based industrial bioprocesses, mainly owing to the excessive processing costs and environmental impacts. Therefore, the application of biorefinery strategies and new emerging extraction technologies can help by being part of an integrated solution and contribute to a novel bioprocess that is expected to be less expensive, greener, and more sustainable in the coming years.
We welcome fundamental research on the above topics, as well as original work identifying the major opportunities, prospects, and challenges in the pursuit of a more sustainable seaweed and microalgae industry—from cultivation to compound extraction and their biotechological applications.
Dr. Joana Assuncao
Dr. Isabel Costa Azevedo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- macroalgae
- microalgae
- cultivation
- biomass
- compound extraction
- functional ingredients
- biorefinery
- bioremediation
- industry application
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