Patent ID: 8513384

Claim:
A method of selectively separating algal proteins from a saltwater algal biomass or saltwater algal culture comprising intact algal cells, the method comprising: harvesting algae from the saltwater algal biomass or saltwater algal culture; dewatering the harvested algae to remove at least some water from the harvested algae, to yield a wet algal biomass fraction comprising intact algal cells; extracting said wet algal biomass fraction with a first solvent set, yielding a first biomass fraction comprising intact algal cells and a first liquid phase; separating said first biomass fraction from said first liquid phase; extracting said first biomass fraction with a second solvent set, yielding a second biomass fraction comprising intact algal cells and a second liquid phase; separating said second biomass fraction from said second liquid phase; and removing at least some of said first solvent set from said first liquid phase to yield a mixture comprising the algal proteins, wherein the second solvent set has a lower polarity than the first solvent set, the first liquid phase has a higher concentration of proteins than the second liquid phase, and the second liquid phase has a higher concentration of polar lipids than the first liquid phase.