The efficiency of a photobioreactor depends on the integration of capture, transport, distri­bution, and use of light by the microalga through photosynthesis (Zijffers et al., 2008). The main feature of the photobioreactor that influences the exposure of microalgae to light is the surface/volume ratio. Some materials used for construction of reactors are glass, fiber­glass, Plexiglas, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylic-PVC, and polyethilene (Wang et al., 2012).

The particularity of each of these materials should be individually evaluated prior to their application in the construction of photobioreactors. Glass is hard, transparent, and suitable for the construction of small-scale photobioreactors. However, this material requires many connections for the construction of large-scale photobioreactos, which increases the produc­tion cost. Fiberglass and PVC can be used in open ponds, where the light reaches the surface of the culture that is open, but cannot be used for tubular photobioreactors because they are nontransparent materials.

Another important feature of the photobioreactor’s building material is the ability to pre­vent the formation of biofilms. Biofilms are not difficult to clean, but they can dramatically reduce the transmission of light, even to the microalgae in open photobioreactors. In open ponds, biofilms may promote the contamination of crops. The photobioreactor should also be constructed to facilitate the control of operating parameters, not have a high cost of con­struction and operation, facilitate the harvesting of the biomass, and minimize power con­sumption during the process (Wang et al., 2012). The photobioreactor must allow the cultivation of several microalgal species.