PHOTOBIOREACTORS FOR MICROALGAL CULTIVATION: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS &

COMPLICATIONS
SALIENT FEATURES
Photobioreactors What & Why?
Design Considerations

Purpose & Target

Parameters
Critical inputs
Steps & Requirements
Outcome and validation
Design Complications

Current knowledge and lacuna

Process maintenance
Dependence on culture and conditions
Steady state operations
Special requirements
Benchmarking

PHOTOBIOREACTORS (PBR) WHAT AND WHY?

A typical photo-bioreactor is a three phase closed reactor system with culture medium as the liquid phase; cells
as the solid phase, and mostly, air as the gas phase.

Cultivation under defined/controlled conditions

Prevent contamination with undesirable microorganism
The main benefits of closed bioreactor systems include higher areal productivities
The prevention of water loss by evaporation.
More appropriate for sensitive strains (which grow in non-extreme environments) or when the final
product is of high value
Offers higher level of control
pH and Temperature
Species selection
Aeration and Mixing
Evaporation losses
BUT
Higher capital, operational and maintenance costs

TYPES OF PHOTOBIOREACTORS
Open

Raceway pond
Circular pond

Closed

Tubular
Bubble column
Air-lift
Flat panel
And others (pyrimidal, hybrid)

CHALLENGES

Low productivity of algae

Expensive for algal biomass production for low value high volume products (Biofuels)
Contamination by other species
Scale-up
High fossil-fuel energy input

Hence, proper choice and design of reactor is of paramount importance.

TUBULAR PHOTOBIOREACTORS
Vertical Tubular Reactors (VTR):
The airlift and bubble column reactors are composed of vertical tubing
Horizontal Tubular Reactors:
Suitable alternative to VTR
Handle large working volumes
Helical tubular reactor:
Flexible plastic tube coiled in a circular framework.
Composed of polyethylene or glass tubes, Polyethylene bags, Plexiglas etc.
PBRDESIGN: CRITICAL PARAMETERS & INPUTS

Re-usability (Easy to clean and reuse)

Material of construction (Strong; Inert; pH-Temp-Salinity tolerant)
Lighting (Light penetration, intensity, photoperiod and flashing)
Mixing (Poor mixing causes unsteady state; biofouling & oxygen hold up)
Aeration Sparger design (Bubble size/number; mass transfer; feed gas pressure > pressure drop)
pH (CO2 solubilization; culture ageing; medium composition)
Temperature (Lighting effect; Removal of excess heat)
BUBBLE-COLUMN/AIRLIFT REACTOR (BCR)

ADVANTAGES
High mass transfer
Good mixing with low shear stress,
High potentials for scalability,
Easy to sterilize,
Low fouling,
Reduced photoinhibition / photo-oxidation
DISADVANTAGES
Small illumination surface area
High energy usage
Their construction require sophisticated materials
Decrease of illumination surface area upon scale-up.
DESIGNING A BUBBLE COLUMN REACTOR FOR BETTER OXYGEN REMOVAL: A CASE
STUDY
Finding relation between overall mass transfer coefficient of oxygen and superficial gas velocity for BCR
where aL= the specific gas-liquid interfacial area
= the overall gas holdup and
dB = the mean bubble diameter
CASE STUDY:
Species = Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Light: The mean outdoor irradiance = 200 69 mE/m2/s in morning and 1056 278 mE/m2/s at noon
Inoculum conc= 0.07 g/l
UG = 0.011 m/s
Specific power input 109 W/ m3
Temp = 20oC
Temperature control with cooling coils

Figure 2. Comparison of the measured gas holdup inthe bubble column with the correlations ofChisti 1989 for
sea water

Figure 3. Correlation of the measured kLaL with the superficial aeration velocity UG
USING LITERATURE TO DESIGN REACTOR
From Fig. 2 we know that at P/VL= 300 W/m3 =10%
From Equation 4 with L= 1030 kg/m3 for sea water UG= 0.03 m/s
From Fig 3. and Equation 1 kLaL = 0.036 sec-1
With known P from compressor rating. we can determine culture volume. Gas hold-up should be considered
while designing reactor volume. Generally reactor volume = 1.1 to 1.3 times culture volume
From Fig. 3 6z = 2.222 . Therefore z= 0.37. Therefore bubble diameter 0.37*dB= kL
We know aL= n*4/24 *3.141 *dB3= 0.036/kL
Therefore n*dB= 0.66 m where number of bubbles (n)
This helps design sparger holes (quantity and diameter) and sparger area.
From Sparger area and light restrictions one designs cross-section area.
From cross-section area and reactor volume reactor height is designed

SHORTCOMINGS & COMPLICATIONS:

Inadequate literature and contradicting data
Scale up challenges; Unsteady state operation
Maintenance of same velocity profile for multiple runs
Self shading / flashing effect and Biofouling
Limiting nutrients
Control of critical process parameters
Removal of oxygen from the growth system
Assessing water requirements (source, recycle, chemistries and evaporation issues)
Determining CO2 availability and delivery methods,
Algae cultivation systems need to cost-effectively and evenly distribute light within the algae culture.
Efficiency of use of solar energy and carbon dioxide.
Prone to contamination with non-target algae
High capital, operating and maintenance costs

CONCLUDING REMARKS
No single prescription for PBR Design
Energy input minimization
Optimization
Scalability