Chapter 2
Microalgal Production Systems
with Highlights of Bioenergy Production
Mariana Manzoni Maroneze and Maria Isabel Queiroz
Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the main systems of microalgae production with highlights of biofuel production. The
large-scale production systems (raceway ponds, horizontal tubular photobioreactors, and heterotrophic bioreactors) and small-scale photobioreactors (vertical and
flat-plate photobioreactors) will be presented and discussed with a special emphasis
on the main factors affecting its efficiency, biomass productivities reported in the
literature, scaling-up, costs of construction and operation, and commercial applications. Besides this, the recent developments in microalgae cultivation systems
will be reviewed in their main aspects. Finally, the criteria for selecting an
appropriate bioreactor for microalgae cultivation will be presented, as well as the
pros and cons of each system will be discussed in this chapter.
Keywords Photobioreactor Á Heterotrophic bioreactor Á Biomass
Energy Á Biofuel
1 Introduction
Historically microalgae have been of interest since 1942, when Harder and von
Witsch (1942) suggested that microalgae could be viable sources of lipids to be
used as food or to produce biofuels. Since then, an increasing amount of research
involving microalgae and their bioproducts has been performed. Currently, these
microorganisms are considered one of the most promising sources for bioenergy
production (Chisti 2016; Chew et al. 2017; Raslavičius et al. 2018).
M. M. Maroneze
Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University
of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil
M. I. Queiroz (&)
School of Chemistry and Food, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG),
Rio Grande, RS 96201-900, Brazil
e-mail: queirozmariaisabel@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Energy from Microalgae, Green Energy
and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_2
5
Microalgal Production Systems
with Highlights of Bioenergy Production
Mariana Manzoni Maroneze and Maria Isabel Queiroz
Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the main systems of microalgae production with highlights of biofuel production. The
large-scale production systems (raceway ponds, horizontal tubular photobioreactors, and heterotrophic bioreactors) and small-scale photobioreactors (vertical and
flat-plate photobioreactors) will be presented and discussed with a special emphasis
on the main factors affecting its efficiency, biomass productivities reported in the
literature, scaling-up, costs of construction and operation, and commercial applications. Besides this, the recent developments in microalgae cultivation systems
will be reviewed in their main aspects. Finally, the criteria for selecting an
appropriate bioreactor for microalgae cultivation will be presented, as well as the
pros and cons of each system will be discussed in this chapter.
Keywords Photobioreactor Á Heterotrophic bioreactor Á Biomass
Energy Á Biofuel
1 Introduction
Historically microalgae have been of interest since 1942, when Harder and von
Witsch (1942) suggested that microalgae could be viable sources of lipids to be
used as food or to produce biofuels. Since then, an increasing amount of research
involving microalgae and their bioproducts has been performed. Currently, these
microorganisms are considered one of the most promising sources for bioenergy
production (Chisti 2016; Chew et al. 2017; Raslavičius et al. 2018).
M. M. Maroneze
Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University
of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS 97105-900, Brazil
M. I. Queiroz (&)
School of Chemistry and Food, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG),
Rio Grande, RS 96201-900, Brazil
e-mail: queirozmariaisabel@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Energy from Microalgae, Green Energy
and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69093-3_2
5