Design and construction of the microalgal pilot facility AlgaePARC

Microalgae gained much interest from industry as promising sustainable feedstock for the production of food, feed, bulk chemicals, and biofuels. Pilot scale research on microalgae is needed to bridge the gap between laboratory scale research and commercial applications. The AlgaePARC (Algae Production And Research Center) pilot facility was constructed to bridge this gap. The objective of this pilot center is to compare and improve photobioreactors and operational strategies under outdoor conditions. The pilot plant facility consists of four production systems (raceway pond, horizontal tubular reactor, vertically stacked tubular reactor and flat panels) and allows comparison of performance of these systems under identical climatological conditions. This paper describes the development of this pilot facility, decisions made during the building process and discusses the production systems including technical specifications, measurements and supporting facilities.