Up to 90% of Dunaliella salina biomass remains unused after extraction of the main product beta-carotene. The potential of mild hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) to exploit this biomass as a source of valuable by-products was assessed. The results indicate that 80% of the remnant was converted into glucose by mild HTL (100 degrees C, 0 min). The recovered glucose was successfully used as a carbon source to cultivate biotechnologically relevant microorganisms, namely Chlorella vulgaris, Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, the analysis of energy demand and operating costs confirms the beneficial effect of mild liquefaction on the overall process economics of algal beta-carotene production. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.