Simulation of algae growth in a bench-scale bubble column reactor

The growth of the marine red microalga Porphyridium sp. in a bubble-column photobioreactor was simulated. The proposed model constitutes a dynamic integration of the kinetics of photosynthesis and photoinhibition with the fluid dynamics of the bubble column, including the effects of shear stress on the kinetics of growth. The kinetic data used in the model were obtained in independent experiments run in a thin-film photobioreactor with defined light/dark cycles. The maintenance term was modified to take into account the effects of liquid flow in the bioreactor on the growth rate. A hybrid method proposed for the approximate solution of the equations gave an appreciable reduction of the calculation time. Extrapolations of the model indicated the possibility of predicting the optimal diameter for an assembly of bubble column photobioreactors. Satisfactory fit was found with the experimental results of biomass growth in a 13-liter bubble column.     

Comparison of artificial light photobioreactors and other production systems using Porphyridium cruentum

A new type of preparative photobioreactor for high quality production of microalgae is developed for hatchery-nursery of marine animals, as well as for fine chemicals extraction. Of modular conception, two artificial light photobioreactors in plastic and stainless steel are designed so as to provide strictly controlled conditions in an attempt to increase quality and diminish cost prices. They are assessed for production of Porphyridum cruentum and compared to conventional transparent tanks and solar photobioreactors. The concentration and productivity obtained are ten-fold higher than with hatchery tanks, which leads to a significant drop in cost price of biomass. Comparison is also made with a 10 m² solar photobioreactor operated in the south of France, for which biomass cost price is half that of 1.5 m² artificial light photobioreactor. Extrapolations erasing size discrepancy show that the cost price of the two technologies are not very different. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dynamic modelling of high biomass density cultivation and biohydrogen production in different scales of flat plate photobioreactors

This paper investigates the scaling‐up of cyanobacterial biomass cultivation and biohydrogen production from laboratory to industrial scale. Two main aspects are investigated and presented, which to the best of our knowledge have never been addressed, namely the construction of an accurate dynamic model to simulate cyanobacterial photo‐heterotrophic growth and biohydrogen production and the prediction of the maximum biomass and hydrogen production in different scales of photobioreactors. To achieve the current goals, experimental data obtained from a laboratory experimental setup are fitted by a dynamic model. Based on the current model, two key original findings are made in this work. First, it is found that selecting low‐chlorophyll mutants is an efficient way to increase both biomass concentration and hydrogen production particularly in a large scale photobioreactor. Second, the current work proposes that the width of industrial scale photobioreactors should not exceed 0.20 m for biomass cultivation and 0.05 m for biohydrogen production, as severe light attenuation can be induced in the reactor beyond this threshold. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 2429–2438. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Peiodicals, Inc.     

一种用于微藻培养的新型板式光生物反应器

微藻的闪光效应可以大幅提高微藻的光效率,提高微藻产量。通过在传统的板式光生物反应器中加入斜挡板以增强微藻的闪光效应。以小球藻为模型藻种,考察了新型板式光生物反应器内不同光强和不同进口流速对小球藻生长速率和光效率的影响。结果表明,当进口流速为0.16 m/s时,随着光强的提高,小球藻的细胞浓度逐渐增加,光效率逐渐降低;在500μmol/(m2·s)的光强条件下,小球藻细胞浓度和光效率均随着进口流速的提高而增加。新型板式光生物反应器内小球藻的细胞浓度比传统板式光生物反应器提高了39.23%,表明在传统板式光生物反应器内加入斜挡板可有效增强微藻的闪光效应。     

Hydrogen production by Rhodopseudomonas palustris WP 3-5 in a serial photobioreactor fed with hydrogen fermentation effluent

In this study, a lab-scale serial photobioreactor composed of three column reactors was constructed and continuously operated to investigate several parameters influencing photohydrogen production when using the synthetic wastewater and the anaerobic hydrogen fermentation effluents as the influents. The results indicated that better hydrogen production rate was obtained when the serial photobioreactor was operated under cellular recycling at a short HRT of 8 h. The serial photobioreactor maintained high hydrogen content ca. 80% in the produced gas and 0.4× dilution ratio was the suitable ratio for hydrogen production. When the photobioreactor fed with the real wastewater (Effluent 1) containing 100 mg/L NH₄Cl, Column 1 reactor successfully reduced ammonia concentration to about 60 mg/L for cell synthesis, resulting in a steady hydrogen production in the following two column reactors. The average hydrogen production rate was 205 mL-H₂/L/d.     

Dynamic discrete model of flashing light effect in photosynthesis of microalgae

For a photobioreactor for mass-culturing microalgae, it is known that flashing light effect enhances the efficiency of photosynthesis. A dynamic model for photosynthesis was developed to elucidate this effect. A particular feature of the model is that discrete RuBP particles circulate in the Calvin cycle and their speeds in the cycle are determined by the amount of ATP generated in the photon reception process. This can realise the light saturation under continuous light and the flashing light effect under fluctuating illumination. Laboratory experiments were conducted to obtain model parameters by curve-fitting for Chaetoceros calcitrans. The present model demonstrates the light flashing effect moderately well and elucidates its mechanism reasonably.     

Photosynthetically oxygenated salicylate biodegradation in a continuous stirred tank photobioreactor

A consortium consisting of a Chlorella sorokiniana strain and a Ralstonia basilensis strain was able to carry out sodium salicylate biodegradation in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) using exclusively photosynthetic oxygenation. Salicylate biodegradation depended on algal activity, which itself was a function of microalgal concentration, light intensity, and temperature. Biomass recirculation improved the photobioreactor performance by up to 44% but the results showed the existence of an optimal biomass concentration above which dark respiration started to occur and the process efficiency started to decline. The salicylate removal efficiency increased by a factor of 3 when illumination was increased from 50-300 microE/m2.s. In addition, the removal rate of sodium salicylate was shown to be temperature-dependent, increasing from 14 to 27 mg/l.h when the temperature was raised from 26.5 to 31.5 degrees C. Under optimized conditions (300 microE/m2.s, 30 degrees C, 1 g sodium salicylate/l in the feed and biomass recirculation) sodium salicylate was removed at a maximum constant rate of 87 mg/l.h, corresponding to an estimated oxygenation capacity of 77 mg O2/l.h (based on a BOD value of 0.88 g O2/g sodium salicylate for the tested bacterium), which is in the range of the oxygen transfer capacity of large-scale mechanical surface aerators. Thus, although higher degradation rates were attained in the control reactor, the photobioreactor is a cost-efficient process which reduces the cost of aeration and prevents volatilization problems associated with the degradation of toxic volatile organic compounds under aerobic conditions.     

Improvement in growth and toxin production of Alexandrium tamarense by two-step culture method

The growth and toxin content of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense ATHK was markedly affected by culture methods. In early growth phase at lower cell density static or mild agitation methods were beneficial to growth, but continuous agitation or aeration, to some extent, had an adverse effect on cell growth. Static culture in 2 L Erlenmeyer flasks had the highest growth rate (0.38 d⁻¹) but smaller cell size compared with other culture conditions. Cells grown under aerated conditions possessed low nitrogen and phosphorus cell yields, namely high N and P cell-quota. At day 18, cells grown in continuous agitated and 1 h aerated culture entered the late stationary phase and their cellular toxin contents were higher (0.67 and 0.54 pg cell⁻¹) compared with cells grown by other culture methods (0.27–0.49 pg cell⁻¹). The highest cell density and cellular toxin content were 17190 cells mL⁻¹ and 1.26 pg cell⁻¹ respectively in an airlift photobioreactor with two-step culture. The results indicate that A. tamarense could be grown successfully in airlift photobioreactor by a two-step culture method, which involved cultivating the cells statically for 4 days and then aerating the medium. This provides an efficient way to enhance cell and toxin yield of A. tamarense.     

Kinetic and growth parameters of Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis cultivated in tubular photobioreactor under different cell circulation systems

Arthrospira platensis was cultivated in tubular photobioreactor in order to evaluate growth and biomass production at variable photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD = 60, 120, and 240 μmol photons m(-2)s(-1)) and employing three different systems for cell circulation, specifically an airlift, a motor-driven pumping and a pressurized system. The influence of these two independents variables on the maximum cell concentration (X(m)), cell productivity (P(x)), nitrogen-to-cell conversion factor (Y(X/N) ), photosynthetic efficiency (PE), and biomass composition (total lipids and proteins), taken as responses, was evaluated by analysis of variance. The statistical analysis revealed that the best combination of responses' mean values (X(m) = 4,055 mg L(-1), P(x) = 406 mg L(-1)day(-1), Y(X/N) = 5.07 mg mg(-1), total lipids = 8.94%, total proteins = 30.3%, PE = 2.04%) was obtained at PPFD = 120 μmol photons m(-2)s(-1); therefore, this light intensity should be considered as the most well-suited for A. platensis cultivation in this photobioreactor configuration. The airlift system did not exert any significant positive statistical influence on the responses, which suggests that this traditional cell circulation system could successfully be substituted by the others tested in this work.