Energy consumption and water-soluble protein release by cell wall disruption of Nannochloropsis gaditana

•A 100g.L−1 slurry of Nannochloropsis gaditana was submitted to cell disruption.•Multiple cell disruption methods were screened on the slurry.•High-pressure homogenization and bead milling were the most efficient.•Pulsed Electric Field was the least efficient on all levels.•The lowest energy cost per unit of released protein was obtained with HPH.•The mathematical model corresponds to the experimental data of HPH and bead milling. Several cell disruption methods were tested on Nannochloropsis gaditana, to evaluate their efficiency in terms of cell disintegration, energy input and release of soluble proteins. High-pressure homogenization (HPH) and bead milling were the most efficient with >95% cell disintegration, ±50% (w/w) release of total proteins and low energy input (