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Design and characterization of a scalable airlift flat panel photobioreactor for microalgae cultivation

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Abstract

A novel flat panel photobioreactor prototype with bulk liquid flow driven by an external airlift was designed, modeled, and experimentally characterized for the purpose of developing scalable industrial photobioreactors. Baffles were built inside the flat panel part of the reactor, directing the liquid bulk flow in a serpentine way, and the external airlift drove the liquid flow and facilitated gas mass transfer. The gas holdup, liquid flow velocity, and oxygen mass transfer of this prototype were experimentally determined and mathematically modeled, and the performance of the reactor was tested by cultivating two species of microalgae, Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella sorokiniana. The model-predicted trends correlated well with experimental data, indicating that the reactor might be scaled up using these models. A high cell concentration of C. sorokiniana was achieved under controlled indoor cultivation conditions although serious biofouling occurred in the case of S. obliquus cultivation. The results favor the possibility of scaling up the reactor to industrial scales, based on the models employed, and the potential advantages and disadvantages of the reactor are discussed regarding this industry-oriented photobioreactor configuration in comparison with current industrial photobioreactors.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the BEMA project (Bio-Energy from Micro-Algae, contract no. 6161, TWEED Cluster) of the Walloon Region, Belgium, and The Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique—FNRS) project PHOTOFUNDS. Philippe Demarche, Rakesh Nair, Emna Bouhajja, and Charles Junghanns are acknowledged for useful discussions and technical assistance.

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Author notes

  1. Eirini Velliou

    Present address: Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE) and Biological Systems Engineering Laboratory (BSEL), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioengineering Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 2, Box L07.05.19, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Jian Li, Marisa Stamato, Eirini Velliou, Clayton Jeffryes & Spiros N. Agathos

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  1. Jian Li
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Correspondence to Spiros N. Agathos.

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Li, J., Stamato, M., Velliou, E. et al. Design and characterization of a scalable airlift flat panel photobioreactor for microalgae cultivation. J Appl Phycol 27, 75–86 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0335-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0335-1

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