Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7082242 | Bioresource Technology | 2013 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
In tubular photobioreactors micro-algae continuously experience dynamically changing oxygen and light conditions when circulating from the solar receiver to the dark degasser. These changes in oxygen concentration and light were simulated in a CSTR using sub-saturating light intensity. Elongation of the residence time in the solar receiver from 30 to 300 min was also investigated. Specific growth rates measured at constant low oxygen concentration PO2 = 0.21 bar were; 1.14 ± 0.06 dayâ1 using continuous light 0.80 ± 0.16 dayâ1 with 30 min light and 1.09 ± 0.05 dayâ1 with 300 min light. The effect of dynamically changing oxygen concentrations from PO2 = 0.21 to 0.63 bar followed by degassing resulted in similar specific growth rates. The exposure of the algae cells to dark periods in the degasser has a bigger negative impact than the temporary exposure to accumulating oxygen concentrations in the solar receiver. This shows that considerable energy savings for degassing are possible.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Process Chemistry and Technology
Authors
Claudia Sousa, Dimitar Valev, Marian H. Vermuë, Rene H. Wijffels,