Microalgae-Based Bioprocess Engineering for Applications in Food, Feed, and Fuel

Microalgae (including cyanobacteria) are among the most versatile biological platforms for chemical and process engineering, capable of converting carbon dioxide (COCO2), sunlight, and nutrient-rich waste streams into a broad portfolio of products spanning food, feed, and fuel applications (3Fs concept). Their metabolic plasticity allows the same biomass or process design to be tailored toward protein- and pigment-rich ingredients for food and feed, functional bioactives with nutraceutical or immunomodulatory properties, or feedstocks for biofuel (biodiesel, bioethanol, and aviation fuel) production, often within an integrated, waste-valorizing biorefinery concept.Realizing this potential at industrially relevant scale, however, still depends on solving core chemical engineering bottlenecks: efficient cultivation on low-cost or waste-derived substrates (including agro-industrial and aquaculture effluents), robust and economical harvesting/flocculation technologies, selective and scalable extraction of thermolabile bioactives, and process integration strategies that maximize resource circularity while maintaining product quality.This Research Topic invites Original Research, Reviews, and Perspective articles that advance the bioprocesses engineering of microalgae across the 3F spectrum, including but not limited to:• Cultivation strategies on wastewater, or other nutrient-rich effluents, including strain selection, process control, and nutrient recovery for circular biomass production;• Harvesting and flocculation technologies (biological, chemical, or physical) enabling cost-effective, large-scale biomass recovery;• Downstream extraction engineering for high-value bioactives – pigments, fatty acids, and polysaccharides – with emphasis on selectivity, scalability, and sustainability;• Bioprocess engineering of microalgae extracts as functional ingredients, immunostimulants, and feed additives;• Microalgal biomass conversion routes toward biofuels and other energy vectors, including process intensification and co-product valorization;• Microalgae bioprocesses in the context of the circular economy;• Techno-economic and life-cycle assessments of integrated microalgae biorefineries spanning food, feed, and fuel outputs.By framing cultivation, downstream processing, and end-application together, this Research Topic aims to consolidate engineering strategies that make microalgae-based biorefineries economically and environmentally viable across the food, feed, and fuel value chains. Topic editors: Carlos Yure B. Oliveira, Luis Fernando Bautista, Tiago Alexandre Conde Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85060/microalgae-based-bioprocess-engineering-for-applications-in-food-feed-and-fuel