Clean Energy and Resources Recovery. Biomass Waste Based Biorefineries, Volume 1 - Chapter 20: Use of membrane technologies to recover microalgae biomass produced in wastewater

Biomass production and effluent purification have been successfully reached by the cultivation of microalgae on wastewater. However, microalgae harvesting from wastewater still presents a challenge for its exploitation in the circular economy framework and efficient use of resources. Thereby we have focused on one of the most interesting and efficient methods: membrane technologies. Compared with other conventional methods (flocculation and sedimentation), membrane technology shows several advantages, which will be outlined in this chapter. Both the types of membranes used and the process parameters influence the filtration process. Therefore theoretical modeling of membrane processes is not enough for obtaining reliable results due to the intervention of a plurality of phenomena. In this sense, the use of experimentation to optimize the industrial operating parameters is necessary. Moreover, a technoeconomic evaluation of this process should be validated to ensure the commercial viability of the obtained products.