Bioflocculation: An alternative strategy for harvesting of microalgae - An overview

Microalgae based research has been extensively progressed for the production of value added products and biofuels. Potential application of microalgae for biofuel is recently gained more attention for possibilities of biodiesel and other high value metabolites. However, high cost of production of biomass associated with harvesting technologies is one of the major bottleneck for commercialization of algae based industrial product. Based on the operation economics, harvesting efficiency, technological possibilities, flocculation of algal biomass is a superior method for harvesting microalgae from the growth medium. In this article, latest trends of microalgal cell harvesting through flocculation are reviewed with emphasis on current progress and prospect in environmental friendly bio-based flocculation approach. Bio-flocculation based microalgae harvesting technologies is a promising strategy for low cost microalgal biomass production for various applications.