Viabilidad en la producción de biomasa microalgal a partir de fotobioreactores solares en el Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Microalgae is an important source of raw materials for the production of biofuels and other fine subs-tances that can contribute to the current need for sustainable renewable energies. Environmental and climatic conditions directly affect the production of biomass from microalgae crops and, in general, the conditions of the department of Valle del Cauca, Co-lombia, are optimal given the levels of solar radiation and its intensity all the year due to its geographical location. Considering the potential of microalgae in biofactory, this article presents a review of the factors involved in the development of microalgae crops; and the technology necessary for its exploita-tion. Also analyzes the viability of closed photobio-reactors due to its high mass transfer, greater use of solar-based and reduction of pollution by foreign microorganisms, which is fundamental in the pro-duction of biomass. This information is useful for the application of engineering and the future develop-ment of efficient and commercially viable technolo-gy for the production of biofuels from microalgae.