Algae are some of the fastest growing organisms in the world, with up to 90% of their weight made up from carbohydrate, protein and oil. As well as these macromolecules, microalgae are also rich in other high-value compounds, such as vitamins, pigments, and biologically active compounds, All these compounds can be extracted for use by the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food industries, and the algae itself can be used for feeding of livestock, in particular fish, where on-going research is dedicated to increasing the percentage of fish and shellfish feed not derived from fish meal. Microalgae are also applied to wastewater bioremediation and carbon capture from industrial flue gases, and can be used as organic fertilizer.

So far, only a few species of microalgae, including cyanobacteria, are under mass cultivation. The potential for expansion is enormous, considering the existing hundreds of thousands of species and subspecies, in which a large gene-pool offers a significant potential for many new producers.

Completely revised, updated and expanded, and with the inclusion of new Editor, Qiang Hu of Arizona State University, the second edition of this extremely important book contains 37 chapters. Nineteen of these chapters are written by new authors, introducing many advanced and emerging technologies and applications such as novel photobioreactors, mass cultivation of oil-bearing microalgae for biofuels, exploration of naturally occurring and genetically engineered microalgae as cell factories for high-value chemicals, and techno-economic analysis of microalgal mass culture. This excellent new edition also contains details of the biology and large-scale culture of several economically important and newly-exploited microalgae, including Botryococcus, Chlamydomonas, Nannochloropsis, Nostoc, Chlorella, Spirulina, Haematococcus, and Dunaniella species/strains.

Edited by Amos Richmond and Qiang Hu, each with a huge wealth of experience in microalgae, its culture, and biotechnology, and drawing together contributions from experts around the globe, this thorough and comprehensive new edition is an essential purchase for all those involved with microalgae, their culture, processing and use. Biotechnologists, bioengineers, phycologists, pharmaceutical, biofuel and fish-feed industry personnel and biological scientists and students will all find a vast amount of cutting-edge information within this Second Edition. Libraries in all universities where biological sciences, biotechnology and aquaculture are studied and taught should all have copies of this landmark new edition on their shelves.

Amos Richmond is Professor Emeritus at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, and Founding Director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Sede Boker, Israel where he established the Micro-Algal Biotechnology Laboratory. 

Qiang Hu is Professor in the College of Technology and Innovation, and Senior Sustainability Scientist at the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. He is also co-director of the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation. Professor Hu has over 25 years of experience in fundamental and applied research on algae in topics ranging from photosynthesis, biosynthesis of lipids and carotenoids, growth physiology of high-density algal culture, photobioreactor system design, and application of algal mass culture technology for biofuels and chemicals, and for environmental bioremediation.

List of Contributors vi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xiv

Part 1: The Microalgal Cell with Reference to Mass Cultures 1

1 The Microalgal Cell 3
Robert A. Andersen

2 Photosynthesis in Microalgae 21
Jir? Masoj?dek, Giuseppe Torzillo, and Michal Kobl?zek

3 Basic Culturing and Analytical Measurement Techniques 37
Yuan-Kun Lee, Wei Chen, Hui Shen, Danxiang Han, Yantao Li, Howland D. T. Jones, Jerilyn A. Timlin,
and Qiang Hu

4 Strategies for Bioprospecting Microalgae for Potential Commercial Applications 69
William Barclay and Kirk Apt

5 Maintenance of Microalgae in Culture Collections 80
Jerry J. Brand, Robert A. Andersen, and David R. Nobles Jr.

6 Environmental Stress Physiology with Reference to Mass Cultures 90
Giuseppe Torzillo and Avigad Vonshak

7 Environmental Effects on Cell Composition 114
Qiang Hu

8 Inorganic Algal Nutrition 123
Johan U. Grobbelaar

9 Commercial Production of Microalgae via Fermentation 134
William Barclay, Kirk Apt, and X. Daniel Dong

10 Molecular Genetic Manipulation of Microalgae: Principles and Applications 146
Roshan Prakash Shrestha, Farzad Haerizadeh, and Mark Hildebrand

Part 2: Mass Cultivation and Processing of Microalgae 169

11 Biological Principles of Mass Cultivation of Photoautotrophic Microalgae 171
Amos Richmond

12 Theoretical Analysis of Culture Growth in Flat-Plate Bioreactors: The Essential Role of Timescales 205
Y. Zarmi, G. Bel, and C. Aflalo

13 Photobioreactors for Mass Production of Microalgae 225
Graziella C. Zittelli, Natascia Biondi, Liliana Rodolfi, and Mario R. Tredici

14 Downstream Processing of Cell Mass and Products 267
Emilio Molina Grima, Francisco Gabriel Aci´en Fern´andez, and Alfonso Robles Medina

15 First Principles of Techno-Economic Analysis of Algal Mass Culture 310
C. Meghan Downes and Qiang Hu

Part 3: Commercial Species of Industrial Production 327

16 Chlorella: Industrial Production of Cell Mass and Chemicals 329
Jin Liu and Qiang Hu

17 Biology and Industrial Production of Arthrospira (Spirulina) 339
Amha Belay

18 Dunaliella: Biology, Production, and Markets 359
Michael A. Borowitzka

19 Biology and Industrial Potential of Botryococcus braunii 369
Makoto M. Watanabe and Yuuhiko Tanabe

20 Biology and Commercial Aspects of Haematococcus pluvialis 388
Danxiang Han, Yantao Li, and Qiang Hu

21 Novel Sulfated Polysaccharides of Red Microalgae: Basics and Applications 406
Shoshana (Malis) Arad and Dorit van Moppes

22 Hydrogen Production by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 417
Giuseppe Torzillo and Michael Seibert

23 Biology and Biotechnology of Edible Nostoc 433
Danxiang Han, Zhongyang Deng, Fan Lu, and Zhengyu Hu

24 IGV GmbH Experience Report, Industrial Production of Microalgae Under Controlled Conditions: Innovative Prospects 445
O. Pulz, J. Broneske, and P. Waldeck

25 Microalgae for Human and Animal Nutrition 461
E. Wolfgang Becker

26 Bioactive and Novel Chemicals from Microalgae 504
R. Cameron Coates, Emily Trentacoste, and William H. Gerwick

27 High-value Recombinant Protein Production in Microalgae 532
Daniel J. Barrera and Stephen P. Mayfield

28 Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms for Lipid Synthesis and Accumulation in Microalgae: Biotechnological Implications 545
Yantao Li, Danxiang Han, Kangsup Yoon, Shunni Zhu, Milton Sommerfeld, and Qiang Hu

29 Biofuels from Microalgae 566
Maria J. Barbosa and Rene H. Wijffels

Part 4: Water Pollution and Bioremediation by Microalgae 579

30 Eutrophication and Water Poisons 581
Susan Blackburn

31 Water Purification: Algae in Wastewater Oxidation Ponds 595
Asher Brenner and Aharon Abeliovich

32 Absorption and Adsorption of Heavy Metals by Microalgae 602
Drora Kaplan

Part 5: Microalgae for Aquaculture 613

33 Microalgae for Aquaculture: The Current Global Situation and Future Trends 615
Arnaud Muller-Feuga

34 Microalga for Aquaculture: Practical Implications 628
Oded Zmora, Dan J. Grosse, Ning Zou, and Tzachi M. Samocha

35 Transgenic Marine Microalgae: A Value-Enhanced Fishmeal and Fish Oil Replacement 653
Jonathan Gressel

36 Microalgae for Aquaculture: Nutritional Aspects 671
E. Wolfgang Becker

37 The Enhancement of Marine Productivity for Climate Stabilization and Food Security 692
Ian S.F. Jones and Daniel P. Harrison

Index 705