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Influence of photobioreactor configuration on microalgal biomass production

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Abstract

Biodiesel production from microalgae depends on the biomass concentration and lipid content in microalgal cells. Photobioreactors (PBRs) facilitates cultivation of microalgae and renders better process control than open systems. However, reactor configuration and consequential hydrodynamics considerably influence biomass and lipid production from microalgae. Here, four different configurations of PBRs, viz. airlift and bubble column with orifice sparger and newly designed ring sparger, were investigated. Resulting volumetric mass transfer coefficient, mixing time, and shear stress were analyzed at different air flow rates to realize their influence on biomass and lipid production from Neochloris oleoabundans UTEX 1185. Bubble column reactor with ring sparger was observed to exhibit superior performance, which was subsequently simulated using a two-phase Eulerian model to comprehend the influence of air flow rates on mixing time. The developed computational model corroborates well with the experimental findings of optimum air flow rate for maximum biomass yield in bubble column configuration.

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Acknowledgements

SB and DD thank the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India, for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Technology Development Center, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

    Srijoni Banerjee, Debabrata Das & Arnab Atta

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

    Soumendu Dasgupta & Arnab Atta

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

    Debabrata Das

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  1. Srijoni Banerjee
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Correspondence to Arnab Atta.

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Banerjee, S., Dasgupta, S., Das, D. et al. Influence of photobioreactor configuration on microalgal biomass production. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 43, 1487–1497 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-020-02342-4

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