Microalgae dewatering is a major obstruction to industrial-scale processing of microalgae for biofuel prodn. The dil. nature of harvested microalgal cultures creates a huge operational cost during dewatering, thereby, rendering algae-based fuels less economically attractive. Currently there is no superior method of dewatering microalgae. A technique that may result in a greater algal biomass may have drawbacks such as a high capital cost or high energy consumption. The choice of which harvesting technique to apply will depend on the species of microalgae and the final product desired. Algal properties such as a large cell size and the capability of the microalgae to autoflocculate can simplify the dewatering process. This article reviews and addresses the various technologies currently used for dewatering microalgal cultures along with a comparative study of the performances of the different technologies.

Dewatering of microalgal cultures : a major bottleneck to algae-based fuels

A comprehensive review on cultivation and harvesting of microalgae for biodiesel production: Environmental pollution control and future directions.

Adsorption behavior of organic pollutants on microplastics.

Recent advances in downstream processing of microalgae lipid recovery for biofuel production.

Influence of polystyrene microplastics on the growth, photosynthetic efficiency and aggregation of freshwater microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

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

Effects of nitrogen source heterogeneity on nutrient removal and biodiesel production of mono- and mix-cultured microalgae

Flocculation is regarded as an effective, convenient and promising means for microalgal harvesting of microalgal biomass. In this study three types of metal sulfates (aluminum sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate and ferric sulfate) were applied as flocculants to harvest microalgae Chlorella vulgaris biomass. The optimal operating parameters such as dosage, rotation speed, flocculation time and sedimentation time during microalgal biomass harvesting were determined, and the effects of metal sulfate application as flocculants on lipid extraction were investigated. The results showed that the optimal dosage for the three flocculants to harvest microalgal biomass was identically 2.5 g L−1, and the optimal rotation speeds for coagulation and flocculation were 150 and 25 rpm, respectively, while the flocculation time of 10 min was found to be appropriate. The findings also suggested that metal residuals in flocculated biomass would affect lipid extraction, resulting in 5.9%, 4.4% and 3.3% reduction of lipid contents for aluminum sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate and ferrous sulfate, respectively. The contribution of this study lies in the provision of the optimal operating parameters during the microalgal biomass flocculation, thus potentially offering the technical guidance for the harvesting of microalgal biomass using metal sulfates as flocculants in practice.

Tianyi Hu

Papers

A comprehensive review on cultivation and harvesting of microalgae for biodiesel production: Environmental pollution control and future directions.

Influence of polystyrene microplastics on the growth, photosynthetic efficiency and aggregation of freshwater microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

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

Effects of nitrogen source heterogeneity on nutrient removal and biodiesel production of mono- and mix-cultured microalgae

Effects of operating parameters on algae Chlorella vulgaris biomass harvesting and lipid extraction using metal sulfates as flocculants