Investigation of photobioreactor design for enhancing the photosynthetic productivity of microalgae

• Published in: Biotechnology and bioengineering Vol. 69; no. 6; pp. 693 - 698
• Main Authors: Morita, Masahiko, Watanabe, Yoshitomo, Saiki, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 20.09.2000; Wiley
• Subjects: algal culture; Algal culture (microalgae); Biological and medical sciences; Bioreactors; Biotechnology; Biotechnology - instrumentation; Biotechnology - methods; Chlorella; Chlorella - metabolism; Chlorella - physiology; CO2; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Light; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; microalgae; Microorganisms; Models, Biological; photo-redistribution; photobioreactor; photobioreactors; Photosynthesis; Radiation effects; Productivity; Light effect; Chlorella; Algae; Carbon dioxide; Chlorophyceae; Design; Luminous intensity; Bioreactor; Chlorophyta; Photobioreactor; Photosynthesis; Thallophyta; Algal culture
• ISSN: 0006-3592; 1097-0290
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0290(20000920)69:6<693::AID-BIT14>3.0.CO;2-0

As photosynthetic efficiencies are relatively high at irradiation levels of <500 μmol m−2 s−1, photosynthetic productivity could be increased by redistributing strong light over a larger photo‐receiving area using conical, helical, tubular photobioreactors (HTP). When Chlorella were exposed to light irradiation of 980 μmol m−2 s−1, the ratio of productivities was 1.00:1.13:1.23:1.66 for conical HTPs with cone angles of 180° (flat type), 120°, 90°, and 60°, respectively. This suggests that photo‐redistribution technology is a highly effective and convenient approach for increasing the photosynthetic productivity of microalgae. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 69: 693–698, 2000.