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At present great experience has been accumulated by many countries in designing photobioreactors for microalgal cultivation. This work analyzes the available photobioreactors of different designs. The constructions of bioreactors, such as thin-layer bioreactors, film bioreactors, bioreactors for submerged cultivation, cavity bioreactors, are described in detail. The analysis of the existing designs of bioreactors, done with criteria of the CELSS in mind, showed the development of cavity bioreactors to hold the greatest promise. The photobioreactors with built-in light conductors, developed by Japanese researchers, also hold much promise. Further work at optimizing the cultivation process in bioreactors will considerably increase their efficiency and result in passing on to the next stage - development and production of photobioreactors for space conditions.

Traditionally the microalgae have aroused interest as a regenerative link of a closed biological life support system. Long-duration experiments conducted in the BIOS-3 system at the Institute of Biophysics have shown that the algal culture Chlorella is able not only to provide the man with oxygen and water but also to utilize his liquid and gaseous wastes. Another microalga, Spirulina, has been long used as food for people; it has also shown high regenerative ability in experimental closed systems. The availability of the methods of algal cultivation in closed systems and the modern cultivation devices suggest that the algal regenerative link is quite prepared for space flight experiments.