Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended						0 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Brazilian Development Bank USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Brazilian Development Bank BRL	Jan. 31, 2013 Archer Daniels Midland Extension Warrant	Dec. 17, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV	Sep. 30, 2014 Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	May 31, 2011 Solazyme Bunge JV	Dec. 18, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV Maximum USD ($)	Nov. 01, 2013 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Jan. 31, 2013 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Sep. 30, 2014 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company	Jul. 31, 2014 California Office Buildings USD ($) sqft	Sep. 30, 2014 California Office Buildings property sqft	Apr. 01, 2011 Brazil Office Building	Sep. 30, 2014 Brazil Office Building USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Brazil Office Building BRL	Sep. 30, 2014 Auto Lease Agreement USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Auto Lease Agreement BRL	Sep. 30, 2014 Auto Lease Agreement Minimum	Sep. 30, 2014 Auto Lease Agreement Maximum	Sep. 30, 2014 Reporting Entity [Member] California Office Buildings sqft	Sep. 30, 2014 Sales, General and Administrative Expenses USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Sales, General and Administrative Expenses USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2014 Subsequent Event USD ($)
Commitment And Contingencies [Line Items]
Deferred rent asset	$ 1,100,000		$ 1,100,000		$ 3,600,000
Deferred rent liability					300,000
Area of building leased																			106,000	5,000								96,000
Number of buildings leased																				2
Lease expiration date																			Jan. 31, 2018	Feb. 01, 2015	Apr. 01, 2016
Additional area of real estate property																			10,000
Beginning date of lease																			Feb. 01, 2015		Apr. 01, 2011
Amount of outstanding letters of credit																			700,000
Lease incentive receivable																			1,600,000
Term of lease																					five years
Lease rent per month																						14,500	35,300
Lease cancellation penalty percentage of remaining lease value																										50.00%	80.00%
Remaining cancellable lease value																								100,000	300,000
Fees paid in form of shares for use and operation of Clinton Facility														423,278				770,761
Warrant granted to purchase shares of common stock												1,000,000			500,000
Additional warrants to be granted under extension of contract								500,000
Warrant exercise price per share												13.50			7.17
Warrant expiry date															2019-01-01
Rent expense	2,600,000	2,100,000	7,900,000	4,500,000												100,000	500,000
Non-cancelable purchase obligations	900,000		900,000
Maximum borrowing capacity						100,800,000	245,700,000
Percentage of loan guaranteed repayment									50.00%
Loan guarantee										0			5,000,000
Outstanding balance under the credit facility											10,000,000
Carrying value of guarantee											5,000,000
Payments for legal settlements																															4,800,000
Litigation accrual	4,800,000		4,800,000
Litigation expense																													3,900,000	4,800,000
Insurance recoveries																															300,000
Insurance recoveries, litigation settlement																															200,000
Insurance Recoveries, External Legal Fees																															$ 100,000