Chlorophyll fluorescence applications in microalgal mass cultures

Chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence has become one of the most common and useful techniques in photosynthetic field research. Its non-invasiveness, sensitivity and the wide availability of reliable instruments, also makes it a convenient and suitable technique in microalgal biotechnology to monitor a culture's photosynthetic performance. Experimentally, homogenous microalgal cultures in suspension have also been ideal objects in photosynthetic studies. For the purpose of this book we summarised results of experiments since the 1990s that have pioneered the practical use of Chl fluorescence methods to monitor the physiological status of fast-growing microalgal mass cultures, optimising and estimating biomass productivity or finding marker processes of certain compound synthesis.