Castro-Muñoz R, García-Depraect O. Membrane-Based Harvesting Processes for Microalgae and Their Valuable-Related Molecules: A Review.
MEMBRANES 2021;
11:membranes11080585. [PMID:
34436347 PMCID:
PMC8400455 DOI:
10.3390/membranes11080585]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The interest in microalgae production deals with its role as the third generation of feedstock to recover renewable energy. Today, there is a need to analyze the ultimate research and advances in recovering the microalgae biomass from the culture medium. Therefore, this review brings the current research developments (over the last three years) in the field of harvesting microalgae using membrane-based technologies (including microfiltration, ultrafiltration and forward osmosis). Initially, the principles of membrane technologies are given to outline the main parameters influencing their operation. The main strategies adopted by the research community for the harvesting of microalgae using membranes are subsequently addressed, paying particular attention to the novel achievements made for improving filtration performance and alleviating fouling. Moreover, this contribution also gives an overview of the advantages of applying membrane technologies for the efficient extraction of the high added-value compounds in microalgae cells, such as lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, which together with the production of renewable biofuels could boost the development of more sustainable and cost-effective microalgae biorefineries.
Collapse