Modification of structural components, especially the cell wall, through adequate pretreatment strategies is critical to the bioconversion efficiency of algal biomass to biorefinery products. Over the years, several physical, physicochemical, chemical and green pretreatment methods have been developed to achieve maximum productivity of desirable by-products to sustain a circular bioeconomy. The effectiveness of the pretreatment methods is however, species specific due to diversity in the innate nature of the microalgal cell wall. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the most notable and promising pretreatment strategies for several microalgae species. Methods including the application of stress, ultrasound, electromagnetic fields, pressure, heat as well as chemical solvents (ionic liquids, supercritical fluids, deep eutectic solvents etc.) have been detailed and analyzed. Enzyme and hydrolytic microorganism based green pretreatment methods have also been reviewed. Metabolic engineering of microorganisms for product specificity and lower inhibitors can be a future breakthrough in microalgal pretreatment.

通过适当的预处理策略来修饰结构成分，尤其是细胞壁，对于藻类生物质向生物精炼产品的生物转化效率至关重要。多年来，已经开发了多种物理、物理化学、化学和绿色预处理方法，以实现所需副产品的最大生产力，以维持循环生物经济。然而，由于微藻细胞壁固有性质的多样性，预处理方法的有效性是物种特异性的。这篇综述全面概述了几种微藻物种最显着和最有前途的预处理策略。方法包括施加应力、超声波、电磁场、压力、热量以及化学溶剂（离子液体、超临界流体、低共熔溶剂等）进行了详细分析。还综述了基于酶和水解微生物的绿色预处理方法。针对产品特异性和低抑制剂的微生物代谢工程可能是微藻预处理的未来突破。