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Solar bioreactors used for the industrial production of microalgae

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Abstract

Microalgae are excellent sources of biomass containing several important compounds for human and animal nutrition—proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, pigments and antioxidants as well as bioactive secondary metabolites. In addition, they have a great biotechnological potential for nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals as well as for CO2 sequestration, wastewater treatment, and potentially also biofuel and biopolymer production. In this review, the industrial production of the most frequently used microalgae genera—Arthrospira, Chlorella, Dunaliella, Haematococcus, Nannochloropsis, Phaeodactylum, Porphyridium and several other species is discussed as concerns the applicability of the most widely used large-scale systems, solar bioreactors (SBRs)—open ponds, raceways, cascades, sleeves, columns, flat panels, tubular systems and others. Microalgae culturing is a complex process in which bioreactor operating parameters and physiological variables closely interact. The requirements of the biological system—microalgae culture are crucial to select the suitable type of SBR. When designing a cultivation process, the phototrophic production of microalgae biomass, it is necessary to employ SBRs that are adequately designed, built and operated to satisfy the physiological requirements of the selected microalgae species, considering also local climate. Moreover, scaling up microalgae cultures for commercial production requires qualified staff working out a suitable cultivation regime.

Key points

• Large-scale solar bioreactors designed for microalgae culturing.

• Most frequently used microalgae genera for commercial production.

• Scale-up requires suitable cultivation conditions and well-elaborated protocols.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Tomáš Grivalský, Dr Gergely E. Lakatos, Ms Soňa Pekařová, Mr João Câmara Manoel and Mr Michal Bureš for their assistance.

Funding

This work was supported by the MULTI-STR3AM project which received funding from Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (grant agreement No 887227) and PhotosynH2, Horizon – EIC-2021 Pathfinder challenges-01 (Project 101070948) and in part by the Czech Academy of Sciences in the framework of the Strategie AV21 programme – Food for Future as well as a special grant 2022 awarded to J.M. as a holder of the Research Professor (DSc.) degree.

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  1. Laboratory of Algal Biotechnology, Centre Algatech, Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Science, Třeboň, Czech Republic

    Jiří Masojídek, Richard Lhotský & Karolína Štěrbová

  2. Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Jiří Masojídek

  3. Istituto Per La Bioeconomia, CNR, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy

    Graziella Chini Zittelli & Giuseppe Torzillo

  4. Centro de Investigation en Ciencias del Mar Y Limnologia (CIMAR), Ciudad de La Investigation, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica

    Giuseppe Torzillo

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  4. Graziella Chini Zittelli
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Contributions

Conceptualization: J. M., K. Š., G. T., G. C. Z., R. L.; methodology: J. M., K. Š., G. Z. C., G. T.; investigation and data analysis: J. M., K. Š., G. T., G. C. Z.; writing—figure preparation: J. M., K. Š., R. L.; writing—original draft preparation: J. M.; writing—review and editing: J. M., K. Š., G. T., G. C. Z., R. L.; post-editing: J. M., G. T.; funding acquisition: J. M., R. L. All authors read, edited and approved the manuscript.

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Masojídek, J., Lhotský, R., Štěrbová, K. et al. Solar bioreactors used for the industrial production of microalgae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 107, 6439–6458 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12733-8

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