Electro-assisted microalgae cultivation, harvesting, and recovery of high-value products: A review

Electrotechnology has recently emerged as an eco-friendly method for enhancing microalgal processes. Electric fields can be applied to microalgae at different stages to improve their biomass productivity, high-value products (HVPs) content, harvesting efficiency, and cell disruption for biomolecule recovery. Incorporating them into microalgal processes can significantly contribute to achieving a circular bioeconomy. This review discusses the application of electric field-based techniques for the upstream and downstream processing of microalgae, based on recent studies reported in the literature. Recent advances in electric field methods, including pulsed electric fields (PEF), ohmic heating, microwaves, and cold plasma, have been critically evaluated for their applications in microalgae cultivation, harvesting, and HVPs recovery. This review highlights the technological challenges and future perspectives of electrotechnology in microalgae processes with preliminary insights into cell isolation, biomolecule preservation, and potential biomedical applications.