Development of operational strategies to remove carbon dioxide in photobioreactors

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2009.06.025

Chemical Engineering Journal

Volume 153, Issues 1–3, 1 November 2009, Pages 120-126

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2009.06.025 Get rights and content

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate different operational strategies for photobioreactors to remove carbon dioxide using the cyanobacteria, Aphanothece microscopica Nägeli. Two types of reactor configuration, bubble column and airlift were evaluated under three different operational conditions to treat air containing 15% carbon dioxide: simple operation, air recirculation and two sequential reactors. The results obtained showed that the reactor configuration and the operational mode were both determinant criteria for the performance of photobioreactors in the biological conversion of carbon dioxide. Operations with air recirculation showed possibilities for use in small-scale operations, but two-stage sequential photobioreactors (elimination capacity and removal efficiency of 12,217 g_carbon/m³_reactor day and 52.5%, respectively) were shown to be the operational mode with greatest potential for application on an industrial scale by the increased removal efficiency.

Introduction

Global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide increased markedly as a result of human activities [1]. Carbon dioxide is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) and its concentration has increased from a pre-industrial value of about 280–379 ppm in 2005 [2]. The first regulations aimed at controlling atmospheric pollutants have already been implanted; the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997 is an historic step in reversing the increase in these emissions. The primary achievement of the Protocol is the commitment of countries referred in the Annex I to reduce their emission some 5% below their country specific 1990 level, in the period 2008–2012 with penalization clauses in case of non-compliance [3].

Biological carbon sequestration using technologies such as controlled photosynthetic reactions may help to alleviate GHG problems, by carrying out reactions in which the CO₂ is transferred to the aqueous phase of the system where microbial conversion occurs, resulting in the production of oxygen, biomass, soluble biopolymers, carbonate and bicarbonate and volatile organic compounds [4], [5], [6].

At this moment, the economic return for the operation of these systems may become feasible through the carbon credits [7] and by using the photobioreactor technology to produce biomass. The biochemical composition of the microalgal cells may be of commercial interest, possessing significant proportions of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, pigments and nucleic acids, and could therefore be used as ingredients in foods destined for human consumption, animal feeds, extraction of biomolecules and in the production of biofuels [8], [9], [10].

In previous studies [11], we demonstrated that CO₂ removal by the cyanobacteria Aphanothece microscopica Nägeli in a bubble column photobioreactor was described by a first order kinetic model. In this study was determined that a 15% (v/v) content of CO₂ in the air inlet optimized CO₂ uptake performance. Furthermore, Jacob-Lopes et al. [12] showed that this inlet CO₂ concentration favoured the cyanobacterial growth when compared to a wide range of concentrations (3, 15, 25, 50 and 62%). In both studies, inlet airstreams with 15% CO₂ (v/v) were considered the best conditions for biomass growth and carbon dioxide removal, however, this condition leads to substantial losses of underutilized CO₂. So, operational strategies should be developed for improve the performance of the CO₂ utilization in photobioreactors.

Design and scale-up methodologies for photobioreactors have not been extensively described. Irrespective of the specific reactor configuration and operational mode employed, several essential issues need addressing: (i) effective and efficient provision of light; (ii) supply of CO₂ while minimizing desorption; (iii) selection of strains with high growth rate, tolerance to CO₂ and temperature; (iv) analysis and definition of operational conditions and (v) scalable photobioreactor technology [13], [14], [15].

Thus the objective of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of the cyanobacteria, Aphanothece microscopica Nägeli to treat air containing 15% carbon dioxide in two types of photobioreactors, bubble column and airlift, under three different operational conditions: simple operation, air recirculation and two sequential reactors.

Section snippets

Microorganism and culture medium

Axenic cultures of Aphanothece microscopica Nägeli (RSMan92) were originally isolated from the Patos Lagoon estuary, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil (32°01′S–52°05′W). Stock cultures were propagated and maintained on synthetic BGN medium [16]. The incubation conditions used were 25 °C, photon flux density of 15 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and a photoperiod of 12 h.

Photobioreactors

The diagram of the experimental apparatus used is shown in Fig. 1. The photobioreactors were constructed in 4 mm thick glass with similar geometry,

Batch reactors with simple operation

Photobioreactors are multi-phase physical–chemical–biological systems with numerous interactions between the process variables and the dynamic alterations between the gas–liquid–solid parts of the system [13]. The use of this type of reactor to eliminate CO₂ is considered a promising alternative, since carbon can be fixed by different mechanisms [20]. The kinetic data for the BCR with simple operation are expressed in Fig. 2.

The kinetic data for CO₂ removal expressed in terms of the EC and RE

Conclusions

The mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO₂, represents an important aspect in the sustainable development of industrial activities. CO₂ sequestration by photosynthetic reactions may be an adequate strategy from this point of view, since it can be transformed into various products which can be reused in different ways. In the present study, the development of operational strategies and the project of reactors for use in the biological conversion of CO₂ by the cyanobacteria

Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Estado de São Paulo—FAPESP (Brazil) and by the ALFA Programme, II-0259-FA-FC—POLYLIFE (European Union). The authors are grateful to Dr. Maria Isabel Queiroz (Federal University of Rio Grande—Brazil) for providing the microalgal cultures.

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Development of operational strategies to remove carbon dioxide in photobioreactors

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Microorganism and culture medium

Photobioreactors

Batch reactors with simple operation

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

Catalysis Today

Chemical Engineering and Processing

Chemosphere

Journal of Theoretical Biology

Energy Policy

Chemical Engineering and Processing

Chemical Engineering and Processing

Plant Science

Chemical Engineering and Processing

Biochemical Engineering Journal

Bioresource Technology

Water Research

Journal of Biotechnology

Bioresource Technology

Chemical Engineering Science

Chemical Engineering Science

Journal of Process Control

Biomolecular Engineering

Solar Energy

Journal of Membrane Science