RETRACTED ARTICLE: A Review on Microalgae Cultivation and Harvesting, and Their Biomass Extraction Processing Using Ionic Liquids
Open accessAbstract
The richness of high-value bio-compounds derived from microalgae has made microalgae a promising and sustainable source of useful product. The present work starts with a review on the usage of open pond and photobioreactor in culturing various microalgae strains, followed by an in-depth evaluation on the common harvesting techniques used to collect microalgae from culture medium. The harvesting methods discussed include filtration, centrifugation, flocculation, and flotation. Additionally, the advanced extraction technologies using ionic liquids as extractive solvents applied to extract high-value bio-compounds such as lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and other bioactive compounds from microalgae biomass are summarized and discussed. However, more work needs to be done to fully utilize the potential of microalgae biomass for the application in large-scale production of biofuels, food additives, and nutritive supplements.
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The combined costs of harvesting and extraction often exceed 50%-70% of OPEX, depending on the species cultivated and the technological route adopted.
“In particular, harvesting alone can account for 20%–30% of overall costs, while the combined costs of harvesting and extraction often exceed 50%–70% of OPEX, depending on the species cultivated and the technological route adopted (Tan et al., 2020; Geng et al., 2025).”
From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Tan et al., 2020
The “Harvesting of microalgae” section says harvesting makes up 20–30% of total production cost. It does not give a 50%–70% figure for harvesting and extraction combined, or express that figure as a share of OPEX; searches for those terms found no supporting passage. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMicroalgae can be continuously cultivated and harvested, ensuring a stable and scalable supply of biomass.
“microalgae can be continuously cultivated and harvested, ensuring a stable and scalable supply of biomass [115].”
From Microalgae Bioactives for Functional Food Innovation and Health Promotion (2025) · cites this paper as [115]
The Harvesting of microalgae table (no page number available) identifies a harvesting method usable in a continuous system and describes foam flotation as highly scalable. But the Microalgae cultivation section says high productivity is hard to ensure at large scale; the review does not establish that continuous cultivation and harvesting ensure a stable, scalable biomass supply. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredHarvesting alone can account for 20%-30% of overall costs.
“In particular, harvesting alone can account for 20%–30% of overall costs, while the combined costs of harvesting and extraction often exceed 50%–70% of OPEX, depending on the species cultivated and the technological route adopted (Tan et al., 2020; Geng et al., 2025).”
From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Tan et al., 2020
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Biomass Accumulation of Chlorella Zofingiensis G1 Cultures Grown Outdoors in Photobioreactors
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A novel low-cost thin-film flat plate photobioreactor for microalgae cultivation
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Microalgal Culture Systems: An Insight into their Designs, Operation and Applications
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Study the Growth of Microalgae in Palm Oil Mill Effluent Waste Water
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An Introduction to Photosynthetic Microalgae
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Low-cost harvesting of microalgae biomass from water
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Harvesting of freshwater microalgae biomass by Scenedesmus sp. as bioflocculant
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Integrated Vertical Photobioreactor System for Carbon Dioxide Removal Using Phototrophic Microalgae
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Microalgae cultivation in photobioreactors: sustainable solutions for a greener future
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Recent advances in biorefinery of astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis
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Lipids from Microalgae for Cosmetic Applications
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“Their high photosynthesis efficiency tied with their rapid growth and the ability to accumulate a large number of bioproducts within their cells make them a suitable candidate to serve as industrial raw material [12].”
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- Authors
- Tan, J. S., Lee, S. Y., Chew, K. W., Lam, M. K., Lim, J. W., Ho, S.-H., & Show, P. L.
- Affiliations
- UCSI University (MY)
- Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Sungai Long Campus (MY)
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- Universiti Teknologi Petronas (MY)
- Harbin Institute of Technology (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Show, Pau Loke
- Venue
- Bioengineered
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2020-01
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 116-129
- ISSN
- 2165-5979 (ISSN-L)
- 2165-5987
- PMC
- PMC6999644
- OpenAlex
- W2999564050
- Cited by
- 524
- References
- 126
- Citations by year
- 2026: 74 · 2025: 109 · 2024: 99 · 2023: 85 · 2022: 87 · 2021: 58 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 11.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Status
- Retracted
- Update notices
- retraction (2026-01-19)
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Bioengineered (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) research (IPSR/RMC/UTARRF/2019-C1/L05)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Catalysis › Ionic liquids properties and applications
- Keywords
- microalgae cultivation, microalgae harvesting, ionic liquids, biomass harvesting, photobioreactors, filtration, centrifugation, flocculation, flotation, microalgal lipids, microalgal proteins, bioactive compounds, biofuels, food additives
- MeSH terms
- Culture Media, Plant Extracts, Biomass, Ionic Liquids, Biofuels, Microalgae
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