Abstract
The growing global demand for oils and lipids, alongside the environmental impact of traditional oil crop cultivation, has generated significant interest in fermentation (or specifically precision fermentation) of oleaginous yeasts to produce food-grade bio-oils. While research is growing in upstream processing and innovation, downstream processing, which includes cell harvesting, disruption, oil extraction, and purification, remains underexplored. Current downstream methods are largely chemical based due to their high yields, established protocols, and operational simplicity. However, these current methods raise concerns regarding food safety and environmental sustainability.
This review provides a comprehensive overview of these challenges across the various stages of downstream processing and examines their impact on process efficiency, sustainability, and scalability. The review also identifies key research gaps and proposes future research directions to advance the field and takes a whole-system approach to the sustainable production of food grade yeast oils. Furthermore, the review proposes novel research paths by analysing and drawing inspiration from oil recovery in biorefinery research.
Developing efficient downstream processes for yeast-derived oils presents several challenges, including complex bio-separation steps, limited sustainable alternatives, high capital and energy requirements, scalability issues, and a lack of integrated process understanding. There are promising strategies from biorefinery research, such as innovations in solvents, novel adsorption techniques, advances in membrane technology and in situ conversion to finished products, which could be adapted (considering appropriate regulatory frameworks) to process food-grade yeast oils. The insights within this review aim to support the development of scalable, safe, and sustainable downstream processes to meet the rising demand for alternative oils.
This review provides a comprehensive overview of these challenges across the various stages of downstream processing and examines their impact on process efficiency, sustainability, and scalability. The review also identifies key research gaps and proposes future research directions to advance the field and takes a whole-system approach to the sustainable production of food grade yeast oils. Furthermore, the review proposes novel research paths by analysing and drawing inspiration from oil recovery in biorefinery research.
Developing efficient downstream processes for yeast-derived oils presents several challenges, including complex bio-separation steps, limited sustainable alternatives, high capital and energy requirements, scalability issues, and a lack of integrated process understanding. There are promising strategies from biorefinery research, such as innovations in solvents, novel adsorption techniques, advances in membrane technology and in situ conversion to finished products, which could be adapted (considering appropriate regulatory frameworks) to process food-grade yeast oils. The insights within this review aim to support the development of scalable, safe, and sustainable downstream processes to meet the rising demand for alternative oils.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 134148 |
| Journal | Bioresource Technology |
| Early online date | 4 Feb 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 4 Feb 2026 |
Data Availability Statement
No data was used for the research described in the article.Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all researchers involved in the CARMA Hub for fruitful discussions.Funding
This work was funded as an EPSRC manufacturing research hub for a sustainable future (EP/X038114/1): Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) https://carmahub.co.uk/
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council |
