Salgado, FranciscoSilva, TiagoAlves, LuísRoseiro, J. CarlosLukasik, Rafal M.Paixão, Susana M.2023-03-082023-03-082022-09Salgado F.R.; T.P. Silva, L. Alves, J.C. Roseiro, R.M. Lukasik, S.M. Paixão (2022) Application of ionic liquids for bacterial carotenoid extraction. 1st International Conference on Sustainable Chemical and Environmental Engineering (SustEng'2022), 31 August – 4 September, Rethymno, Crete. Proceedings - ISBN 978-618-86417-0-9, p. 362-363978-618-86417-0-9http://hdl.handle.net/10400.9/4024ABSTRACT: One of the ways to make microbial bioprocesses more economically viable is to enhance valorization of high added value products resulting from the biomass, like carotenoids, which have a high market value. To recover these pigments from microbial biomass a good extraction method is required. Solvent extraction is one of the methods commonly used to extract carotenoids, however, solvent extractions are both material and time-consuming, and moreover also present some health and safety concerns. Ionic liquids (ILs) are a promising step forward to tackle some of these problems, even with their high price, and has been tested for the extraction of microorganism’s components. These “molten salts” are a group of compounds that have been known for a long time, but only in the last decades they have been attracting more attention from both researchers and industry. ILs are solvents that have a high solvation power for a wide range of molecules. ILs are salts with a melting point below 100ºC, which possess unique properties that depend on both the cation and anion present, high thermal and chemical stability, a large electrochemical window, great solvent power, non-flammability, and a negligible vapor pressure. Their versatility is one of their most attractive features, making them adaptable to many technologies. Therefore, ILs can be used to facilitate chemical reactions, extraction and separation, biotransformation, and can be used in biorefineries and other processes. As shown in previous works, Gordonia alkanivorans strain 1B has the capacity to produce carotenoids, however, since it was originally isolated form hydrocarbon rich environments, it is highly resistant to different organic solvents commonly used in extraction protocols. This makes the process slow and laborious, lowering yields and increasing solvent spending. As such, new extraction protocols must be developed and tested to obtain higher pigments yield. So, herein, the potential of ILs for carotenoids extraction was evaluated, since these compounds have been described as a good option to extract pigments produced by microorganisms.engCarotenoidsIonic liquidsExtractionconference object