Heterotrophic vs autotrophic production of microalgae: Bringing some light into the everlasting cost controversy

Jesus Ruiz; Rene H. Wijffels; Manuel Dominguez; Maria J. Barbosa

doi:10.1016/j.algal.2022.102698

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Heterotrophic vs autotrophic production of microalgae: Bringing some light into the everlasting cost controversy

Journal article

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Heterotrophic vs autotrophic production of microalgae: Bringing some light into the everlasting cost controversy

Jesus Ruiz, Rene H. Wijffels, Manuel Dominguez and Maria J. Barbosa

Algal research (Amsterdam), Vol.64, p.102698

05/01/2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2022.102698

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Abstract

Heterotrophic or autotrophic? This is the continuous question the industry faces when microalgae production is the endeavor. Surprisingly, nowadays specialists have not reached a consensus on which is the most economical option. The current work analyses costs for heterotrophic and autotrophic cultivation of microalgae at an industrial scale. Heterotrophic cultivation of microalgae results in a production cost of 4.00 euro .kg(-1) of dry weight as a centrifuged paste. This is within the range of autotrophic costs, but still above the production cost in some photobioreactors. The study also identifies the current limitations on the technology and studies the effect on the cost of overcoming these. Once achieved, the advances in the process could result in a heterotrophic production cost reduced to 1.08 euro .k(g-1). Autotrophic cultivation seems competitive with heterotrophic production. It is time to leap forward in the autotrophic production scale to achieve the critical reduction in production cost.

Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Heterotrophic vs autotrophic production of microalgae: Bringing some light into the everlasting cost controversy
Creators: Jesus Ruiz - Universidad de Cádiz
Rene H. Wijffels - Nord University
Manuel Dominguez - Universidad de Cádiz
Maria J. Barbosa - Wageningen Univ, AlgaePARC, Bioproc Engn, POB 16, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Algal research (Amsterdam), Vol.64, p.102698
DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2022.102698
ISSN: 2211-9264
eISSN: 2211-9264
Publisher: Elsevier
Number of pages: 8
Grant note: 745754 / European Research Council; European Research Council (ERC); European Commission Nutritional Ingredients for Food/Feed and Ingredients
Language: English
Date published: 05/01/2022
Academic Unit: International Programs; Spanish and Portuguese
Record Identifier: 9984397922402771

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