The Experimental Macro Photoreactor for Microalgae Production

Algae have been cultivated commercially since the 1950s, mainly for the pharmaceutical industry, but only recently gained attention as a potential source of biomass and as a sink for CO2. Algae promise a potentially high productivity per hectare, could be grown on non-arable land, can utilize a wide variety of water sources (fresh, brackish, saline and wastewater), and potentially recycle CO2 of flue gas and other nutrient waste streams [1]. The paper describes the concept and building of the photoreactor for intensive microalgae cultivation in laboratory scale.