Harvesting of microalgae is seen as one of the major challenges
of using microalgae for the production of biodiesel. Microalgae that
store lipids are generally unicellular, have low densities and are
found in suspension making separation difficult. Large scale extraction
procedures for microalgal lipids are complex and still in the
developmental stage [28] (Refer to Section 4.4). Currently research
is underway to alleviate these challenges.
Microalgae grown in open pond systems are prone to contamination.
Bacterial contamination actively competes for nutrients
and oxidise organic matter that could lead to putrification of the
culture. Control of heterotrophic bacteria may be achieved by increase
in pH. Aerobic bacteria generally found in algal ponding systems
have an optimum pH of 8.3. Increase in pH beyond this level
gives effective inhibition thus preventing competition by influencing
nitrogen efficiency [31,32]. Open systems are also susceptible
to grazers in the form of protozoa and zooplankton. These organisms
actively consume microalgae and can devastate algal concentration
in relatively short periods of time (2–3 days). Zooplankton
can reduce microalgal concentration by up to 90% of the original
density in 48 h [33] and Daphnia can lower microalgal density by
a massive 99% over a few days [32]. Several methods to control
these organisms are available including filtration, centrifugation,
low dissolved oxygen (DO), application of hormones and increase
in free ammonia. These methods however have drawbacks in that
filtration is difficult due to the size of microalgal species such as
Chlorella sp. making separation technically difficult. Centrifugation
is prohibitively expensive at large scale requiring high capital and
energy inputs. Photosynthetic microalgae produce oxygen thus actively
increasing the DO as a function of growth.
Increase in free ammonia as a control method may be achieved
by pH elevation by volatilisation of ammonia. It has been eluded
that the toxicity of high pH may actually be due to increased free
ammonia levels that are brought about by the volatilisation of
ammonia at high pH [34]. Thus the most appropriate method of
controlling zooplankton and bacterial populations is to increase
pH to 11 [32]. The range of optimal pH for algae varies with species.
The optimal level of growth for many freshwater microalgae
is close to 8 and deviation from this level subsequently leads to
reduction in biomass [35]. Microalgae such as Amphora sp. and
Ankistrodesmus sp. have been shown to grow uninhibited at pH 9
and 10 respectively [32]. pH exceeding 11 is reported to occur inhigh rate algal pond systems due to consumption of carbon dioxide
and carbonic acid by the process of photosynthesis [31]. Microalgae
are estimated to require 6–8 tons of nitrates per hectare per
year, 55–111 times the requirement of field crops [36]. The associated
cost may be readily alleviated by the use of wastewater as a
growth substrate [28].
Other challenges with respect to the use of biodiesel as fuel is
that it is susceptible to bacterial oxidation subsequently causing
internal corrosion of the storage tanks [15]. Production of microalgal
biodiesel can be an energy intensive process. Large amounts of
glycerol are produced as a by-product and will likely flood the market
thus driving prices down. Methanol used in the transesterification
process is currently derived from crude sources. These
challenges can be overcome by implementation of measures such
as state of the art design of the biodiesel storage tanks. High energy
input may be overcome by use of the bio-refinery concept, whereby
biomass is converted to energy resulting in a waste-less process
[28]. Glycerol produced in large quantities could be used to make
higher value products or to benefit the community in the form of
soap and candles in 3rd world countries. An effective use of glycerol
is as a fermentation stock to produce methane as part of the
bio-refinery concept. Methanol used for transesterification is currently
derived from crude sources and biodiesel has the potential
to be a 100% biological fuel in the future [15].