The contamination and control of biological pollutants in mass cultivation of microalgae

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 128; pp. 745 - 750
• Main Authors: Wang, Hui, Zhang, Wei, Chen, Lin, Wang, Junfeng, Liu, Tianzhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: analysis; biofuels; Biological; Biological and medical sciences; biological control; Biomass; bioreactors; Bioreactors - microbiology; Cell Culture Techniques; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Contamination; cross contamination; Cultivation; feedstocks; fermentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Industrial research; metabolism; methods; microalgae; Microalgae - physiology; Microalgal biomass; microbiology; Microorganisms; Open ponds; Photobioreactor; physiology; Pollutants; Ponds; Water Pollutants; Water Pollutants - analysis; Water Pollutants - metabolism; Open ponds; Microalgal biomass; Photobioreactor; Contamination; Pollutant; Pond; Biology; Alga; Biomass; Microorganism; Culture
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.10.158

► Biological contamination in mass cultivation of microalgae is inevitable. ► Transmission routes of biological pollutants are analyzed. ► Different biological pollutants species have different contamination mechanisms. ► Recent attempts to overcome the contamination are under active study. The potential of microalgae as a biomass feedstock for biofuels, bioproducts and as a technological solution for CO2 fixation is subject to intense academic and industrial researches. However, current microalgal mass culture technologies have failed to produce bulk volume of microalgal biomass at low cost, because the contaminations of biological pollutants become a big constraint in mass cultivation and impede the industrial process. Here the transmission routes, contamination mechanisms of biological pollutants both in open ponds and photobioreactors are described and recent attempts to overcome the barrier are reviewed. What worth noting, unlike conventional microbial fermentation which uses a pure monoculture, the cultivation of microalgae is a complicated symbiotic system of microalgae–bacterial–zooplankton where the target microalgae dominate, cross infection or contamination by biological pollutants is inevitable and it will require much further research. Further investigation and development of control methods are necessary, particularly microalgal strain selection.