Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8086829 | Algal Research | 2016 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Microalgae mass cultivation is limited by light availability due to effects of absorption and reflection. These effects can only partially be coped with by increasing the photon-flux density. Further inhibitive effects, especially during outdoor cultivations, are described by photoinhibition and photosaturation. Therefore, moving the cells towards the light source and away from it in a distinct mode by convective mass transfer is the method of choice to cope with these inhibitive effects. Hereby, the utilization of culture-flow directing installations, e.g. static mixers, within photobioreactors can be of great benefit. The thermophilic model organism Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 was cultivated in flat-panel airlift photobioreactors with and without static mixers in order to show their positive influence on growth kinetics. Optimal nitrate and carbon concentrations were 2000 mg Lâ 1 NO3â, 0.04 g Lâ 1 Na2CO3 combined with 6.3% v/v CO2. It was shown that photobioreactors with static mixers increase volumetric productivity by a factor of 3.4 and final biomass concentration by a factor of 2.0. A maximum productivity of 2.9 gDW Lâ 1 dâ 1 was demonstrated, to the knowledge of the authors the highest to be reported for the cyanobacterium T. elongatus BP-1.
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Authors
Peter Bergmann, Walter Trösch,