Microalgae Cultivation Technologies as an Opportunity for Bioenergetic System Development—Advantages and Limitations
Open accessAbstract
Microalgal biomass is currently considered as a sustainable and renewable feedstock for biofuel production (biohydrogen, biomethane, biodiesel) characterized by lower emissions of hazardous air pollutants than fossil fuels. Photobioreactors for microalgae growth can be exploited using many industrial and domestic wastes. It allows locating the commercial microalgal systems in areas that cannot be employed for agricultural purposes, i.e., near heating or wastewater treatment plants and other industrial facilities producing carbon dioxide and organic and nutrient compounds. Despite their high potential, the large-scale algal biomass production technologies are not popular because the systems for biomass production, separation, drainage, and conversion into energy carriers are difficult to explicitly assess and balance, considering the ecological and economical concerns. Most of the studies presented in the literature have been carried out on a small, laboratory scale. This significantly limits the possibility of obtaining reliable data for a comprehensive assessment of the efficiency of such solutions. Therefore, there is a need to verify the results in pilot-scale and the full technical-scale studies. This study summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of microalgal biomass production technologies for bioenergetic applications.
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The wide variety of microalgae strains available enables their use in various fields, including bioenergy production, food production, synthesis of omega-3 fatty acids, animal feed, organic fertilisers, biodegradable plastics, recombinant proteins, pigments, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines.
“The wide variety of microalgae strains available enables their use in various fields, including bioenergy production, food production, synthesis of omega-3 fatty acids, animal feed, organic fertilisers, biodegradable plastics, recombinant proteins, pigments, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines [6,7].”
From Multi-Sensing Monitoring of the Microalgae Biomass Cultivation Systems for Biofuels and Added Value Products Synthesis—Challenges and Opportunities (2025) · cites this paper as [7]
The Introduction and Conclusions (page numbers unavailable) support the broad point that diverse microalgal strains can be selected for different applications, including food, feed, biofuels, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals. The Focal Area Ref. table also lists pigments and bioplastic. Our copy does not substantiate the claimed uses for recombinant proteins or vaccines, so the full list is not supported by this source. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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References 266 · Cited by 146
Part of this paper’s reference list could not be split into single entries.
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Jedynak, P.; Burczyk, J.; Borowski, S.; Kaszycki, P.; Hałat-Łaś, M.; Kędra, M.; Mungunkhuyag, K.; Malec, P. Use of microalgae for treatment of post-fermentation effluent from biogas production. Przemysł Chem. 2018, 97, 2106-2109.
- Ozdemir, H.I.; Pinto, C.A.; Unal, R.; Keating, C.B.; Britcher, C. Supporting technology selection via portfolio readiness level and technology forecasting. In Proceedings of the International Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Management; Huntsville, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 24-26 October 2019.
- Schultz-Zehden, A.; Matczak, M. (Eds.) SUBMARINER Compendium: An Assessment of Innovative and Sustainable Uses of Baltic Marine Resources; Maritime Institute in Gdansk: Gdansk, Poland, 2012.
- Stevens, C.V., Ed.; John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2008. 117.
- Authors
- Dębowski, M., Zieliński, M., Kazimierowicz, J., Kujawska, N., & Talbierz, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (PL)
- Bialystok University of Technology (PL)
- InnovaTree Sp. z o.o., 81-451 Gdynia, Poland
- Corresponding author
- Dębowski, Marcin
- Venue
- Sustainability
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2020-11-29
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 9980
- ISSN
- 2071-1050 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3108886535
- Cited by
- 146
- References
- 266
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 34
- FWCI
- 4.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Sustainability (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju (BIOSTRATEG2/296369/5/NCBR/2016.)
- 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
- microalgae cultivation, photobioreactors, algal biomass, biofuels, biohydrogen, biomethane, biodiesel, industrial waste valorization, CO2 utilization, bioenergy systems
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