Harvesting of Microalgae for Biomass Production

Abstract

Microalgae have a great commercial potential as a source of several compounds of interest to the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. The market was estimated to be around US$1.25 billion per year with more than 20 different commercial products and the genera commercially produced are mainly Chlorella, Arthrospira (Spirulina), Dunaliella, and Haematococcus, with a produc- tion of 5.000 tons of dry matter in 2004, increasing to 9.000 tons in 2010. However, despite extensive research carried out to date, harvesting is still one of the most costly processes in microalgae production. Consequently, the microalgae that are currently produced commercially are mainly indented for high value products (>$10,000 ton-1). The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of the major constraints and technologies available for harvesting microalgae.