Patent ID: 8476060

Claim:
A process for lysing one or more microalgal cells, wherein the lysis results in an extraction of one or more algal lipids, comprising the steps of: cultivating a hydrocarbon or a lipid-producing microalgae in a growth media, wherein the cultivation is carried out under one or more growth conditions comprising sunlight, nutrients, water, and CO2; exposing the microalgae to low energy soundwaves in a sonicating device to produce a homogenous algal slurry comprising broken algal cells, algal lipids, and the growth media, wherein the homogeneous algal slurry comprises a lipid/oil top layer, a green layer comprising lysed microalgal cells, and a clear water layer; extracting one or more algal lipids from the homogenous algal slurry by a chemical treatment, wherein the chemical treatment may include, but is not limited to the addition of heat, acid, and chemicals to break an oil/water emulsion; exposing the homogeneous algal slurry to low energy soundwaves in the sonicating device to break the oil/water emulsion, wherein the exposure of the homogeneous algal slurry to low energy soundwaves is an optional treatment step; and extracting of the one or more algal lipids.