Non-enclosure methods for non-suspended microalgae cultivation: literature review and research needs

Microalgae are getting more interests from industry and science communities. Applications of these small, unicellular microorganisms are countless: from fourth generation biofuels, through fish feed to pharmaceuticals. Ordinary methods of cultivation may be associated with many problems such as high costs, high energy consumption, and low product yield. It is difficult to control contaminations in open ponds while photobioreactors are mainly at laboratory scale and expensive to scale-up. Scientists are investigating various methods of microalgae cultivation and processing to overcome those problems. One of the novel approaches is the non-suspended method for microalgae culturing, where microalgae are grown on attached surfaces.