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Photobioreactors for Microalgal Biofuel Production

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Algae for Biofuels and Energy

Part of the book series: Developments in Applied Phycology ((DAPH,volume 5))

Abstract

Many different PBR designs have been proposed for biofuel production, few of them have been tested at pilot-scale, none developed at the (large) scale necessary for a complete and correct evaluation. Thus the main issues that impact on the reactor’s performance (i.e., suitable construction materials, efficient mixing, heating/cooling, CO2 supply and oxygen removal), although explored at pilot level, still await evaluation at real scale. Although the main limitations of PBR are the high cost and the reduced scalability, with few exceptions, R&D on photobioreactor design is aimed at achieving high photosynthetic efficiencies and at pushing productivity beyond that currently attainable. The main strategies explored to this end are intensive mixing, light dilution via large external surfaces or internal light conducting structures. This chapter reviews and examined recent advances and innovations in photobioreactor design and operation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The power input in bubbled panels can be calculated from the following formula: P G  =  V L ρ L g U G (Chisti and Moo-Young 1989) where:

    • PG is the power input due to aeration (W)

    • VL is the culture volume (m3)

    • ρL is the water density (1,000 kg m−3)

    • g is the gravitational acceleration (9.8 m s−2)

    • UG is the superficial gas velocity (m s−1)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy

    Graziella Chini Zittelli

  2. Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Agrarie, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Piazzale delle Cascine 24, 50144, Florence, Italy

    Liliana Rodolfi, Natascia Biondi & Mario R. Tredici

  3. Fotosintetica & Microbiologia S.r.l., Via dei Della Robbia 54, 50132, Florence, Italy

    Niccoló Bassi

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  1. Graziella Chini Zittelli
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  2. Liliana Rodolfi
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  3. Niccoló Bassi
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  4. Natascia Biondi
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  5. Mario R. Tredici
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Correspondence to Mario R. Tredici .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Murdoch University, Murdoch, West Australia, Australia

    Michael A. Borowitzka

  2. Murdoch University, Murdoch, West Australia, Australia

    Navid R. Moheimani

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Zittelli, G.C., Rodolfi, L., Bassi, N., Biondi, N., Tredici, M.R. (2013). Photobioreactors for Microalgal Biofuel Production. In: Borowitzka, M., Moheimani, N. (eds) Algae for Biofuels and Energy. Developments in Applied Phycology, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5479-9_7

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