Economically viable microalgal biodiesel production is unrealistic and unsustainable owing to expensive harvesting or dewatering techniques. Hence, immense and meticulous exploration of harvesting process is essential to identify knowledge leads by which suitable harvesting technique could be ascertained for lucrative biodiesel production. With this in view, this review aims to collate and highlight the spectrum of harvesting techniques applied to microalgae, i.e., conventional – modern, high cost- inexpensiveness, energy efficient- energy consuming process. At the outset, global energy outlook and demand had been critically addressed, and the scientific ways to tackle or satiate the fuel demand had also been highlighted in this reveiw. This review manuscript has thrown widespread light on the physical harvesting methods namely centrifugation, sedimentation, filtration, flotation and technical advantages thereof. Due to the energy-intensive and cost barrier of physical harvesting techniques, chemical methods entailing organic, inorganic, and electroflocculation have come to limelight and in this regard, microalgae used, floc recovery and the dose of flocculants have been compared and presented in detail. Further, state of the art harvesting techniques viz., bioflocculation by microalgae/bacteria, flocculation by pH adjustment, and magnetic nanocomposite based microalgal harvesting had been critically articulated. Besides discussing the several methods, this paper has summarized the key challenges in conventional and advanced harvesting techniques and also provided the scope thereof. Hence, the key suggestions and findings given in this manuscript would positively offer a well-defined roadmap in choosing foreseeable harvesting technology for cost-effective microalgal biofuel development.

A comprehensive review on harvesting of microalgae for biodiesel – Key challenges and future directions

The energy demands and costs of harvesting microalgal biomass make it unrealistic and unsustainable for economically feasible microalgal biofuel production Therefore, meticulous exploration of the harvesting processes is essential to identify appropriate harvesting techniques for potentially commercialized microalgal biodiesel production Flocculation may be a superior method when considering harvesting efficiency, economic cost, energy consumption and technical feasibility This review sheds some light on the recent progresses of physical/chemical flocculation and bioflocculation applied in the microalgal biomass harvesting processes Physical flocculation techniques are energy-intensive and require special equipment, creating the cost barrier for microalgal biomass harvesting Magnetic particle flocculation is much more efficient and is also recyclable In contrast, chemical flocculation that involves the application of organic and inorganic flocculants, is now in the limelight The microalgae species applied, the dosages of flocculants as well as flocculation recovery efficiencies are compared and presented in detail in this review In addition, bioflocculation as a harvesting techniques is critically described, in particular the mechanisms of autoflocculation, a promising bioflocculation by co-cultivation of microalgae with microorganisms, are explored This review also disclosed the effects of flocculant application on downstream processes, especially when chemical flocculants are applied This review intends to provide guidance for the long-term adoption of these economically beneficial mature flocculation recovery technologies in the biofuel industry Despite of considerable progress, key challenges such as further reduction of costs and the minimization of downstream product pollution risks in conventional and advanced harvesting techniques, must be addressed This article also suggests the directions for future research in microalgae harvesting and argues that the production of microalgae biofuels under potential policy intervention should be carried out in a healthy and sustainable way

A review on flocculation as an efficient method to harvest energy microalgae: Mechanisms, performances, influencing factors and perspectives

Microalgae are considered as a potential and sustainable feedstock for the production of biofuels, fine chemicals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. This is accredited to their high lipid and carbohydrate content, fast growth and rapid CO2 sequestration ability. However, large volumes of feedstock are required to extract and process biochemicals from microalgal biomass due to the small biomass to liquid ratio. This produces substantial challenges in attaining a sustainable energy balance in microalgae-based products process operations. Additionally, the small size of microalgal cells along with their negatively charged cell surface and cell density similar to the growth medium produces challenges in microalgae harvesting. The high cost associated with microalgae harvesting is a major bottleneck for commercialization of algae-based industrial products. Hence, microalgae harvesting is recognized as an area that needs to be explored and developed. This article aims to collate and present an overview of current harvesting strategies such as physical, chemical, biological, electrical and magnetic methods along with their future prospects. This review also highlights the evolution of microalgal harvesting and elucidates the fundamental phenomena of each technology in relation to key physical parameters such as morphology, size, density and surface charge. Besides throwing widespread light on various harvesting methods, this review article has also presented their advantages and disadvantages. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) was reviewed to assess the feasibility of various harvesting system for commercial application based on the environmental and technoeconomic impacts. Hence, the vital proposals provided in this review article would undeniably pave the way for choosing the appropriate harvesting strategy.

A comprehensive review on microalgal harvesting strategies: Current status and future prospects

Mass harvesting of marine microalgae using different techniques

Harvesting of microalgae is a crucial step in microalgae-based mass production of different high value-added products. In the present work, magnetic harvesting of Chlorella vulgaris was investigated using microwave-synthesized naked magnetite (Fe3O4) particles with an average crystallite diameter of 20 nm. Optimization of the most important parameters of the magnetic harvesting process, namely pH, mass ratio (mr) of magnetite particles to biomass (g/g), and agitation speed (rpm) of the C. vulgaris biomass-Fe3O4 particles mixture, was performed using the response surface methodology (RSM) statistical tool. Harvesting efficiencies higher than 99% were obtained for pH 3.0 and mixing speed greater or equal to 350 rpm. Recovery of magnetic particles via detachment was shown to be feasible and the recovery particles could be reused at least five times with high harvesting efficiency. Consequently, the described harvesting approach of C. vulgaris cells leads to an efficient, simple, and quick process, that does not impair the quality of the harvested biomass.

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/6/1614/pdf

Optimization of Microalga Chlorella vulgaris Magnetic Harvesting.

The harvesting of Nannochloropsis oceanica was studied using magnetic separation with naked iron oxide particles. Emphasis was given to the effect of pH on harvesting efficiency, while mixing time ...

D. Logothetis

Papers

Magnetic harvesting of marine algae Nannochloropsis oceanica