Investigating dynamic processes in a porous substrate biofilm photobioreactor - A modeling approach

Our results show that the proposed model can accurately predict light intensity distribution in the modeled PSBR biofilm, provided the optical properties of the biomass were measured experimentally. The prediction of the concentration of dissolved oxygen and pH profiles also reflected experimental data with high fidelity. The results also strongly suggest that facilitated CO2 transfer due to the presence of extracellular carbonic anhydrase in the biofilm matrix plays an important role in DIC transport in the modeled PSBR biofilm at low gas phase CO2 concentration; and the pH gradient along the depth gradient of the modeled biofilm was mainly caused by the uptake of dissolved inorganic carbon. In addition, the simulation can predict biomass growth in the modeled PSBR with minimal error, thus, with minor modifications, the model can also be applied to predict biomass growth in larger-scale PSBRs.