Advantages of pulsed electric field use for treatment of algae

Abstract

Algae are a large group of aquatic photosynthetic organisms that can range from micrometers to thousands of meters, microalgae to macroalgae, which are being used nowadays in several applications from food and feed, medicine, biofuel, beauty products, pollution control to fertilizer, comprising a huge potential to help humankind. In order to get these benefits, one needs to reach to the inner content of algae, and this is where pulsed electric fields, or PEF, can be used as a tool in the process, with advantages in some stages. Focus will be given to microalgae cultivation as this farming process has been gaining attention in recent years for its high potential as a feedstock for biorefineries, yielding several high-value products. In effect, from the control of predators or contaminants during cultivation stage of algae to the selective extraction of inner value-added components after harvesting and concentration stage, PEF can be used as long as a continuous process can be applied in order to increase processes efficiency with, for example, a colinear treatment chamber placed in series with the algae culture reactors. That is why, because of its flexibility and tunability, PEF is a very promising technology to use at industrial microalgae plants. However, more industrial scale tests are needed to consolidate and further develop the potential of this technology applied to microalgae.