The effect of magnetic field treatment on the cultivation of microalgae: An overview of involved mechanisms

Several studies have demonstrated the benefits of magnetic treatment on the productivity of secondary metabolites, growth, and the state of microalgae cultures. This technology offers advantages such as low operating costs, absence of toxic effects, absence of secondary pollution, a wide range of applications, and a long useful life. Despite these advantages, its use in industrial microalgae culture systems has been limited due to the lack of consensus on the mechanisms that explain the observed effects on microalgae. In this paper, the effect of magnetic field treatments on microalgae and cyanobacterial cultures and the possible mechanisms are critically reviewed. However, it is still necessary to conduct more studies directly relating the experimental effects observed with one or several proposed mechanisms.