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Harvesting, Thickening and Dewatering Microalgae Biomass

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Algae for Biofuels and Energy

Part of the book series: Developments in Applied Phycology ((DAPH,volume 5))

Abstract

The recovery and processing of microalgae biomass from a culture media is an essential component for the production of almost all microalgae products. Microalgae recovery techniques can be used individually (single-stage) or in combination (multi-stage) and the choice is often dependent on the species of microalgae, desired product concentration and product quality. A wide range of solid-liquid separation techniques is available and this chapter compares the technologies and assess the technical and economic considerations for each option. The major challenge in selecting an appropriate technology for biofuels production from microalgae is that traditional microalgae concentration processes have generally used energy-intensive unit operations that are expensive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Stephen L. Pahl, Andrew K. Lee, Theo Kalaitzidis, Peter J. Ashman, Suraj Sathe & David M. Lewis

Authors
  1. Stephen L. Pahl
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  2. Andrew K. Lee
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  3. Theo Kalaitzidis
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  4. Peter J. Ashman
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  5. Suraj Sathe
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  6. David M. Lewis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David M. Lewis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Murdoch University, Murdoch, West Australia, Australia

    Michael A. Borowitzka

  2. Murdoch University, Murdoch, West Australia, Australia

    Navid R. Moheimani

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Pahl, S.L., Lee, A.K., Kalaitzidis, T., Ashman, P.J., Sathe, S., Lewis, D.M. (2013). Harvesting, Thickening and Dewatering Microalgae Biomass. In: Borowitzka, M., Moheimani, N. (eds) Algae for Biofuels and Energy. Developments in Applied Phycology, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5479-9_10

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