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Evaluation of maintenance energy requirements in the cultivation of Scenedesmus obliquus: effect of light intensity and regime

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Abstract

Most relevant factors influencing microalgae growth are light availability and utilization. In view of maximizing the photosynthetic efficiency of a photobioreactor, the evaluation of maintenance energy is essential to understand the energy requirement for cell growth and it is also a key parameter of most mathematical growth models. In this work, steady-state continuous experiments were carried out in a flat-bed photobioreactor, at different light intensities and irradiation regimes, measuring growth rate, productivity, lipid content, and photosynthetic efficiency of Scenedesmus obliquus at non-limiting N and P condition. Energy balance was applied to measure the maintenance term as a function of irradiation, under both continuous and simulated seasonal irradiation at middle latitudes. The energy requirement for maintenance was found to be greater under high irradiances as a result of the photoinhibition effect. Experimental data were correlated following a substrate inhibition model. The nutrient uptakes were found to depend on growth rate and light intensity and to be affected by the maintenance requirement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Engineering DII, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 9, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Eleonora Sforza, Silvia Urbani & Alberto Bertucco

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  1. Eleonora Sforza
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  2. Silvia Urbani
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  3. Alberto Bertucco
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Correspondence to Eleonora Sforza.

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Sforza, E., Urbani, S. & Bertucco, A. Evaluation of maintenance energy requirements in the cultivation of Scenedesmus obliquus: effect of light intensity and regime. J Appl Phycol 27, 1453–1462 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0460-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0460-x

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