What is photobioreactor used for?
Photobioreactors are specialized bioreactors for culturing phototrophic organisms. Given the correct conditions, almost any algae, cyanobacteria, seaweed, or plant cell can be grown efficiently in a photobioreactor.
What happens in a photobioreactor?
A photobioreactor (PBR) is a bioreactor that utilizes a light source to cultivate phototrophic microorganisms. These organisms use photosynthesis to generate biomass from light and carbon dioxide and include plants, mosses, macroalgae, microalgae, cyanobacteria and purple bacteria.
How big is a photobioreactor?
A variation of this column system are annular photobioreactors, which consist of two glass or Plexiglas cylinders of different diameters placed one inside the other to form a culture chamber some 5–10 cm thick and 50–200 l in volume (Figure 3(e)). Illumination can be provided by either natural or artificial light.
How much is a photobioreactor?
High Cost of Photobioreactors Photobioreactors are expensive owing to their sophistication. Currently (as of Aug 2010), Photobioreactor costs range between $70-150/ m2, though there some up and coming companies that claim to provide these at much lower capital costs.
What is the function of pump in photobioreactor?
A closed photobioreactor consists of a light capture unit or photoreceiver, a pumping device to circulate the culture through the photoreceiver, and a gas-exchange column to remove the photosynthetically generated oxygen and provide the carbon source (carbon dioxide).
What is photobioreactor productivity?
The areal biomass productivity (rx, g m− 2 d− 1) in a photobioreactor is the product of the biomass concentration (Cx, molx L− 1), reactor depth d, and the average biomass specific growth rate :(A. 7) Using numerical integration, for a selected value of Cx, the corresponding rx can be obtained.
Which is not a photobioreactor?
Which of the following are not photobioreactor types? Explanation: Rotating wall vessel bioreactor is not a photo-bioreactor. The types of photo-bioreactors are Tubular, Christmas tree, plate, horizontal, foil, and porous substrate bioreactors.
Is it expensive to grow algae?
The baseline algae production cost is estimated to be $1,137/short ton (st) algae, on an ash-free dry weight (AFDW) basis (2016 US$).
Why is algae so expensive?
The production cost is high because of the energy required to circulate gases and other materials inside the photo bioreactors where the algae grow. It also takes energy to dry out the biomass, and Solix uses far less water than other companies (see Cutting the Cost of Making Algae by 90%).
How do Photobioreactors produce usable oil?
Harvesting: After growing in open ponds or photobioreactors, the microalgae biomass needs to be harvested for further processing. The commonly used harvest method is through gravity settlement, or centrifuge. The oil from the biomass will be removed through solvent extraction and further processed into biodiesel.
How much do algae bioreactors cost?
The baseline algae production cost is estimated to be $1,137/short ton (st) algae, on an ash-free dry weight (AFDW) basis (2016 US$). Sensitivity analyses probe the areal productivity, support structure cost, and PBR bag replacement cost and life as significant impact factors affecting the system cost.
What do algae eat?
Algae does not consume organic materials; instead, it feeds on the waste materials produced by decomposing materials and the waste of marine animals. The growth of algae is dependent on the process of photosynthesis where the bacteria that forms the organisms takes energy from the rays of the sun to use for growth.
What is a photobioreactor?
A photobioreactor (PBR) is a bioreactor which incorporates some type of light source (that may be natural sunlight or artificial illumination).
What are the applications of bioreactors?
1 Photobioreactor. A photobioreactor (PBR) is a bioreactor which incorporates some type of light source (that may be natural sunlight or artificial illumination). 2 Sewage treatment. Conventional sewage treatment utilises bioreactors to undertake the main purification processes. 3 Bioreactors for specialized tissues.
What is the difference between heat transfer and photobioreactor?
Heat transfer is an important part of bioreactor design; small vessels can be cooled with a cooling jacket, but larger vessels may require coils or an external heat exchanger. A photobioreactor (PBR) is a bioreactor which incorporates some type of light source (that may be natural sunlight or artificial illumination).
Are photobioreactors economically feasible at laboratory scale?
Due to the recent prices of the photobioreactors, economically feasible concepts today can only be found within high-value markets, e.g. food supplement or cosmetics. The advantages of tubular photobioreactors at production scale are also transferred to laboratory scale.