Photobioreactor design is a subject of great relevance for the attainment of a sustained development in modern technology, and has also considerable interest from the basic scientific and technologic point of view. The aim of the present review paper is presenting and comparing some of the recent attempts by the authors of modelling photosynthesis in reactors. A short inspection of the kinetic ...

Maximal productivity of a 14 mm light-path panel photobioreactor under high irradiance was determined. Under continuous illumination of 2,100 micromol photons m(-2) s(-1) with red light emitting diodes (LEDs) the effect of dilution rate on photobioreactor productivity was studied. The light intensity used in this work is similar to the maximal irradiance on a horizontal surface at latitudes low...

BACKGROUND Microalgae are a potential source of sustainable commodities of fuels, chemicals and food and feed additives. The current high production costs, as a result of the low areal productivities, limit the application of microalgae in industry. A first step is determining how the different production system designs relate to each other under identical climate conditions. The productivity a...

A numerical study is presented aiming to maximize the solar to hydrogen energy conversion efficiency of a mixed culture containing microorganisms with different radiation characteristics. The green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii CC125 and the purple non-sulfur bacteria Rhodobacter sphearoides ATCC 49419 are chosen for illustration purposes. The previously measured radiation characteristics of ...

Flashing light effect on microalgae could significantly improve the light efficiency and biomass productivity of microalgae. In this paper, the baffles were introduced into the traditional flat plate photobioreactor so as to enhance the flashing light effect of microalgae. Making Chlorella sp. as the model microalgae, the effect of light intensity and inlet velocity on the biomass concentration...

A novel photobioreactor was developed with a total volume of 30 m(3) which required merely 100 m(3) of land footprint. The bioreactor was capable of utilizing CO(2) in the flue gas of a power plant as the carbon source for the growth of a freshwater alga, Spirulina platensis, mitigating the greenhouse effect caused by the same amount of CO(2) discharge. Results of the study indicated that the p...

The growth and on-site bioremediation potential of an isolated thermal- and CO₂-tolerant mutant strain, Chlorella sp. MTF-7, were investigated. The Chlorella sp. MTF-7 cultures were directly aerated with the flue gas generated from coke oven of a steel plant. The biomass concentration, growth rate and lipid content of Chlorella sp. MTF-7 cultured in an outdoor 50-L photobioreactor for 6 days wa...

The nutrient removal using microalgae in wastewater has received more attention in the last years. Due to the optical loss of wastewater, the reactors for algae used in wastewater treatment, have a small depth and they need large surfaces (like open ponds). In this study it is proposed a novel photobioreactor with an internal illumination using LED lights and Plexiglas End-Lighten rods. The lig...

BACKGROUND The design of photobioreactor (PBR) for outdoor mass cultivation of microalgae determines the distribution of solar irradiance among cells in the culture, mode of agitation, mass transfer efficacy, and energy consumption, thus determines the productivity of the system and the cost of production. In this study, the concept of a floating photobioreactor with rotation function is propos...

BACKGROUND The productivity of an algal culture depends on how efficiently it converts sunlight into biomass and lipids. Wild-type algae in their natural environment evolved to compete for light energy and maximize individual cell growth; however, in a photobioreactor, global productivity should be maximized. Improving light use efficiency is one of the primary aims of algae biotechnological re...