Table 7 (continued)
Cultivation
type
Cultivation system
Advantages
Limitations
Lab-scale
Vertical
photobioreactors
– High mass transfer
– Good mixing
– Potential for
scalability
– Easy to sterilize
– Least land use
– Reduced
photoinhibition
– Small illumination
area
– Sophisticated
construction materials
– Support costs
– Modest scalability
Flat-plate
photobioreactors
– High biomass
productivity
– Large illumination
surface area
– Suitable for outdoor
cultures
– Uniform distribution
of light
– Low power
consumption
– Difficult to scale up
– Difficult temperature
control
– Fouling
– Photoinhibition
– Shear damage from
aeration
Heterotrophic
bioreactor
– High productivity
– Limited to a few
microalgal strains
– Low cost
– Susceptibility to
contamination
– Wastewater treatment
– Easy scaling-up
Emergent
Biofilm
photobioreactors
– Low cost of
microalgae
harvesting
– Reduced light
limitation
– Low footprint
– Low water
consumption
– Efficient CO 2 mass
transfer
– Formation of
gradients
– Scaling-up
Membrane
photobioreactors
– High biomass
productivity
– High-quality treated
effluent
– Easy to operate
– Limited studies
– Cost
Hybrid
photobioreactors
– Low use of land area
– Low operating costs
– High stability
– Limited to a few
microalgal strains
2 Microalgal Production Systems with Highlights …
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