Although microalgal biomass and environmental benefits of microalgae surpass those of many other feedstocks, the costs associated with up- and downstream technologies still hinder their further development. Membrane technology is an emerging technology that has been applied in the microalgae industry for cultivation, harvesting, and biorefinery, and that has contributed to achieving the economic sustainability of microalgal cultivation and reducing energy input. In the most studied field (microalgae harvesting), the lowest energy consumption is currently 0.67 Wh/m3 when using vibrating, negatively charged, patterned PSf membranes with flocculation prior to filtration in an MMV system. However, the operational flux (95 L/m2 h) is not the highest, leaving room for optimization. Cost calculations indicated that the total electrical cost is only a very small fraction (3.05%) of the total production cost (using the energy costs of that period, i.e., 0.1 €/kWh), with CO2 and labor suggested to be the key factors contributing to high production cost. Membrane-based microalgal biofilm systems recently gained a lot of attention as they offer a win-win strategy for low-cost simultaneous microalgae cultivation and harvesting. In addition, they can be used in other fields, such as wastewater treatment and the production of biochemicals. This review suggests that further studies should not only focus on developing new technologies but combine the existing technologies and find their synergistic effects to realize high performance and low costs.
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