Cited by 111Algal biology and biofuel productionAquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton DynamicsMicrobial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction

Biotechnologies for bulk production of microalgal biomass: from mass cultivation to dried biomass acquisition

Open access
Qin, Song, Wang, Kang, Gao, Fengzheng, Ge, Baosheng, Cui, Hongli, Li, Wenjun·2023·Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts

Abstract

Microalgal biomass represents a sustainable bioresource for various applications, such as food, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, feed, and other bio-based products. For decades, its mass production has attracted widespread attention and interest. The process of microalgal biomass production involves several techniques, mainly cultivation, harvesting, drying, and pollution control. These techniques are often designed and optimized to meet optimal growth conditions for microalgae and to produce high-quality biomass at acceptable cost. Importantly, mass production techniques are important for producing a commercial product in sufficient amounts. However, it should not be overlooked that microalgal biotechnology still faces challenges, in particular the high cost of production, the lack of knowledge about biological contaminants and the challenge of loss of active ingredients during biomass production. These issues involve the research and development of low-cost, standardized, industrial-scale production equipment and the optimization of production processes, as well as the urgent need to increase the research on biological contaminants and microalgal active ingredients. This review systematically examines the global development of microalgal biotechnology for biomass production, with emphasis on the techniques of cultivation, harvesting, drying and control of biological contaminants, and discusses the challenges and strategies to further improve quality and reduce costs. Moreover, the current status of biomass production of some biotechnologically important species has been summarized, and the importance of improving microalgae-related standards for their commercial applications is noted.

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Crossref · 10.1186/s13068-023-02382-4

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  • Open systems are generally used for more resilient species such as Arthrospira spp., Chlorella spp., and Dunaliella spp., which can tolerate extremes of salinity or pH and reduce contamination pressure.

    “Open systems are generally used for more resilient species, such as Arthrospira spp., Chlorella spp., and Dunaliella spp., which can tolerate extremes of salinity or pH and reduce contamination pressure.”

    From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Qin et al., 2023

    The “Challenges of open pond systems” section identifies Arthrospira, Chlorella, and Dunaliella as commercially cultivated in open ponds and says their cultivation conditions can be hostile to competitors. It gives high salinity for D. salina and high pH for A. platensis, but describes Chlorella as a rapidly growing dominant species, not as tolerant of either extreme. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Arthrospira platensis tolerates alkaline conditions.

    “For instance, Dunaliella salina thrives in saline environments, whereas Arthrospira platensis tolerates alkaline conditions (Qin et al., 2023).”

    From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Qin et al., 2023

  • Dunaliella salina thrives in saline environments.

    “For instance, Dunaliella salina thrives in saline environments, whereas Arthrospira platensis tolerates alkaline conditions (Qin et al., 2023).”

    From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Qin et al., 2023

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. [12]Soong P Shelef G Soeder C Production and development of Chlorella and Spirulina in Taiwan Algae biomass 1980 Amsterdam Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press 9 20
  2. [13]Pirie NW Pirie NW The Spirulina algae Food protein sources 1975 New York Cambridge University Press 33 39
  3. [15]Hu I-C Pandey A Chang J-S Soccol CR Lee D-J Chisti Y Production of potential coproducts from microalgae Biofuels from algae 2019 New York Elsevier 345 358
  4. [30]Gao FZ Ge BS Xiang WZ Qin S Development of microalgal industries in the past 60 years due to biotechnological research in China: a review Sci Sin Vitae 2020 51 26 39
  5. [72]Al Hattab M Ghaly A Hammouda A Microalgae harvesting methods for industrial production of biodiesel: critical review and comparative analysis J Fundam Renew Energy Appl 2015 5 2 1000154
  6. [132]Wang M Chen S Zhou W Yuan W Wang D Algal cell lysis by bacteria: a review and comparison to conventional methods Algal Res 2020 46 101794
  7. [147]Becher EW Microalgae biotechnology microbiology 1994 Cambridge Cambridge University Press

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Authors
Qin, S., Wang, K., Gao, F., Ge, B., Cui, H., & Li, W.
Affiliations
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • ETH Zurich (CH)
  • China University of Petroleum, East China (CN)
Corresponding author
Qin, Song
Venue
Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts
Published
2023-08-29
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
131-131
ISSN
2731-3654 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4386245486
Cited by
111
References
133
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 2
FWCI
1.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Knowledge Repository of Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, CAS (Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research) (submittedVersion)
  • Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • ETH Zürich Research Collection
Funders
National Natural Science Foundation of China (42061134020)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
Keywords
microalgal biomass, microalgae cultivation, microalgae harvesting, biomass drying, biological contaminants, production cost reduction, bioproducts

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