The Role of Light on the Microalgae Biotechnology: Fundamentals, Technological Approaches, and Sustainability Issues

Light energy directly affects microalgae growth and productivity. Microalgae in natural environments receive light through solar fluxes, and their duration and distribution are highly variable over time. Consequently, microalgae must adjust their photosynthetic processes to avoid photo limitation and photoinhibition and maximize yield. Considering these circumstances, adjusting light capture through artificial lighting in the main culture systems benefits microalgae growth and induces the production of commercially important compounds. In this sense, this review provides a comprehensive study of the role of light in microalgae biotechnology. For this, we present the main fundamentals and reactions of metabolism and metabolic alternatives to regulate photosynthetic conversion in microalgae cells. Light conversions based on natural and artificial systems are compared, mainly demonstrating the impact of solar radiation on natural systems and lighting devices, spectral compositions, periodic modulations, and light fluxes when using artificial lighting systems. The most commonly used photobioreactor design and performance are shown herein, in addition to a more detailed discussion of light-dependent approaches in these photobioreactors. In addition, we present the principal advances in photobioreactor projects, focusing on lighting, through a patent-based analysis to map technological trends. Lastly, sustainability and economic issues in commercializing microalgae products were presented.