Use of photoacclimation in
the design of a novel photobioreactor to achieve high yields in algal mass
cultivation
J.U. Grobbelaar, N. Kurano-2003
Journal of Applied Phycology, 15(2):
121-126
Abstract:
The concept of a completely new and novel
photobioreactor consisting of various compartments each with a specific
light regime is described. This is in response to the debate and development
which have taken place in recent years concerning photobioreactor design and
closed systems. It is well known that algae can photo-acclimate to various
light intensities. At the extremes, they can be high light (HL) or low light
(LL) acclimated. Both HL and LL acclimated algae typically have very
specific characteristics indicating the plasticity of the organisms, which
have developed specific strategies during evolution to cope with continuous
and dynamic light fields. Not only are these considerations important in
photobioreactor design, but also for the production of certain biocompounds,
whose synthesis has specific light requirements. In the continuous flow
photobioreactor described here, algal cells acclimated to different light
conditions together permit utilization of the entire light gradient found in
an optically dense medium, such as in a high-density culture. Compared to a
single compartment vertical flat-plate photobioreactor, the multicompartment
reactor yielded a 37% higher productivity rate. This is a significant
improvement in photobioreactor performance.
(Department of Plant Sciences,
University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa, e-mail: grobbeju@sci.uovs.ac.za)