Cultivation Systems of Microalgae for the Production of Biofuels

Abstract

As reported in the study, the high-oil/ha-year productivity of microalgae has raised a lot of interest in their use as a source of raw materials for biofuels. However, the high costs of production and maintenance of closed culture systems (photobioreactor type) and the problems of contamination that lead to lower productivity of open systems (of the "open-pond" type) have become important limitations in evaluating the sustainability of producing biofuels from microalgae.In the view of the favorable prospects of employing microalgae as an economically viable source of raw materials for the production of biofuels, this chapter outlines the different ways microalgae are cultivated, the required nutritional conditions and the main procedures used for increasing their scale. Additionally, those more commonly used on a large scale are described and their advantages and disadvantages are pointed out. This analysis results in a proposal of a new type of photobioreactor, of the cylindrical container type, constructed of polyethylene, a nontransparent material that is cheaper and more durable than the ones that are commonly used (polycarbonate, glass or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)). Internal illumination of the photobioreactor is provided by a beam from plastic optical fibers that receive sunlight focused at the extremity of the beam.

Isolation of Industrial Important Bioactive Compounds from Microalgae

“…Biofuels are the renewable energy sources produced from algal biomass which is the third generation of biofuels and is a promising alternative method to the previous methods. The advantages of using algae to generate fuels/energy are that it can be produced all-year-round, easy to cultivate in water without much effort, requires less water compared to terrestrial crops, does not require pesticides or herbicides thus reducing the cultivation cost [ 186 , 187 ].…”

Microalgal Biomass Generation via Electroflotation: A Cost-Effective Dewatering Technology

“…Table 2 shows different cultivation systems that have been tested and used in laboratories for large-scale production of microalgae. There are two main established technologies for microalgae cultivation namely open ponds and a controlled closed cultivation system that employs different types of photobioreactors [30]. Open ponds generally offer minimal capital and operating costs, with low energy input for culture mixing, but the risk of contamination is high.…”

“…Open ponds or raceway ponds, including shallow big and circular pond tanks, are the simplest and one of the most intensively investigated microalgae cultivation systems, since the 1950s, due to their lower capital costs [30]. Raceway (open) pond is a shallow pond (between 0.2 and 0.5 m deep) to allow appropriate illumination and to attain high growth rate of microalgae [38].…”

Isolation of Industrial Important Bioactive Compounds From Microalgae: A Review

“…Biofuels are the renewable energy sources produced from algal biomass which is the third generation of biofuels and is a promising alternative method to the previous methods. The advantages of using algae to generate fuels/energy are that it can be produced all-year-round, easy to cultivate in water without much effort, requires less water compared to terrestrial crops, does not require pesticides or herbicides thus reducing the cultivation cost [189,190].…”