Patent ID: 8308948

Claim:
A method of selectively separating products from a wet algal biomass comprised of intact algal cells, the method comprising: a. providing a wet algal biomass; b. adding a first solvent set, to generate a first extraction mixture comprising a first liquid phase and a first solid phase, wherein the first extraction mixture comprises intact algal cells and is made up of about 50-65% of the first solvent set; c. separating at least a portion of the first liquid phase from the first solid phase; d. combining the first solid phase with a second solvent set, to generate a second extraction mixture comprising a second liquid phase and a second solid phase, wherein the second extraction mixture comprises intact algal cells and is made up of about 75-85% of the second solvent set; e. separating at least a portion of the second liquid phase from the second solid phase; f. combining the second solid phase with a third solvent set, to generate a third extraction mixture comprising a third liquid phase and a third solid phase, wherein the third extraction mixture comprises intact algal cells and is made up of about 85-95% of the third solvent set; and g. separating at least a portion of the third liquid phase from the third solid phase, wherein the first liquid phase has a higher protein concentration than the second and third liquid phases, the second liquid phase has a higher polar lipids concentration than the first and third liquid phases, and the third liquid phase has a higher neutral lipids concentration than the first and second liquid phases.