A helical tubular photobioreactor producing Spirulina in a semicontinuous mode

Abstract A 21l bench-top, helical tubular photobioreactor was operated, under steady-state conditions, for Spirulina sp. production as a semicontinuous reactor using different dilutions from 1 : 20 to 1 : 4. A maximum value of 5.82 g dry weight l −1 was obtained for a dilution rate (D) of 0.0078 h −1 . The maximum productivity value obtained was 0.40 g l −1 d −1 ( 8.52 g reactor −1 d −1 or 6.45 g m −2 d −1 ) using a dilution of 1 : 5 and 0.0078 h −1 of dilution rate. The reactor was operated for 984h. The determination of a satisfactory condition for the use of this type of photobioreactor in tropical climates and the study of its performance under various dilutions were the main objectives of this work.

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