Thinking outside of the box: potential of zooplankton for microalgae harvesting

摘要

With the growing tension between freshwater resources and arable land, the implications of microalgae for future food production, CO_2 sequestration and biofuel supply are increasingly compelling [1,2]. As microalgae harvesting could potentially use up to 84.9% of the total energy consumed over the product life cycle, this process has become a major bottleneck hindering the development of the industry [3]. There are a multitude of techniques used for microalgae dewatering. Some are quite rapid and energy intensive, whereas others are more passive and use less energy input, but are often more time consuming [4]. As such, there is an urgent need to develop new harvesting techniques that are fast, reliable, low cost, energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Zooplankton, a common unwelcomed, con-