Forced light/dark circulation operation of open pond for microalgae cultivation

Open pond has been widely used for microalgae culture. However its lower biomass productivity damaged its economic viability used as cultivation systems for feedstock production. In this study we introduced a forced L/D circulation operation to conventional open pond, in which the culture medium was pumped to circulate between an illuminated shallow pond and a fully darkened tank. The growth of microalgae was dominated by the photic retention time and dark/light ratio of the forced L/D circulation. The optimal values were determined to be 3.98 for dark/light ratio and 5.80 min for photic retention time by response surface methodology, at which, a biomass productivity of 36.5 g m−2 d−1 for Scenedesmus dimorphus was approached in laboratory. Outdoor cultivation practice with the forced light/dark circulation of pond was also carried out and averaged 28.5 g m−2 d−1 biomass productivity was achieved, which is double of that by conventional open pond cultivations in 250 mm or 50 mm water depth without forced circulation.

[1]  K. Terry,et al.  Photosynthesis in modulated light: Quantitative dependence of photosynthetic enhancement on flashing rate , 1986, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[2]  Jose C. Merchuk,et al.  Comparison of photobioreactors for cultivation of the red microalga Porphyridium sp , 2000 .

[3]  Carlos Jiménez,et al.  The Feasibility of industrial production of Spirulina (Arthrospira) in Southern Spain , 2003 .

[4]  W. Cong,et al.  [Oxygen evolution characteristics of Spirulina platensis under various light conditions]. , 2011, Sheng wu gong cheng xue bao = Chinese journal of biotechnology.

[5]  H. Matthijs,et al.  Application of light‐emitting diodes in bioreactors: Flashing light effects and energy economy in algal culture (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) , 1996, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[6]  J. Ogbonna,et al.  Light/dark cyclic movement of algal culture (Synechocystis aquatilis) in outdoor inclined tubular photobioreactor equipped with static mixers for efficient production of biomass , 2004, Biotechnology Letters.

[7]  J. Benemann,et al.  Look Back at the U.S. Department of Energy's Aquatic Species Program: Biodiesel from Algae; Close-Out Report , 1998 .

[8]  Johannes Tramper,et al.  Microalgae cultivation in air-lift reactors: modeling biomass yield and growth rate as a function of mixing frequency. , 2003, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[9]  J. Grobbelaar.  Turbulence in mass algal cultures and the role of light/dark fluctuations , 1994, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[10]  Y. Chisti.  Biodiesel from microalgae. , 2007, Biotechnology advances.

[11]  René H. Wijffels,et al.  Photosynthetic efficiency of Dunaliella tertiolecta under short light/dark cycles , 2001 .

[12]  J. Doucha,et al.  Productivity, CO2/O2 exchange and hydraulics in outdoor open high density microalgal (Chlorella sp.) photobioreactors operated in a Middle and Southern European climate , 2006, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[13]  R. Wijffels,et al.  An Outlook on Microalgal Biofuels , 2010, Science.

[14]  M. Borowitzka.  Commercial production of microalgae: ponds, tanks, tubes and fermenters , 1999 .

[15]  Olaf Kruse,et al.  Future prospects of microalgal biofuel production systems. , 2010, Trends in plant science.

[16]  Ladislav Nedbal,et al.  Microscopic green algae and cyanobacteria in high-frequency intermittent light , 1996, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[17]  Mathieu Streefland,et al.  Photosynthetic efficiency of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in attenuated, flashing light , 2012, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[18]  I. Ross,et al.  Selection, breeding and engineering of microalgae for bioenergy and biofuel production. , 2012, Trends in biotechnology.

[19]  Q. Hu,et al.  Microalgal triacylglycerols as feedstocks for biofuel production: perspectives and advances. , 2008, The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology.

[20]  R. Sims,et al.  Production and harvesting of microalgae for wastewater treatment, biofuels, and bioproducts. , 2011, Biotechnology advances.

[21]  J. Grobbelaar.  Microalgal biomass production: challenges and realities , 2010, Photosynthesis Research.

[22]  Sun Yingying,et al.  Effect of liquid circulation velocity and cell density on the growth ofParietochloris incisa in flat plate photobioreactors , 2005 .

[23]  Naohiro Yoshimoto,et al.  Dynamic discrete model of flashing light effect in photosynthesis of microalgae , 2005, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[24]  Chiun-Hsun Chen,et al.  Lipid accumulation and CO2 utilization of Nannochloropsis oculata in response to CO2 aeration. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[25]  René H. Wijffels,et al.  Specific growth rate of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella sorokiniana under medium duration li , 1999 .

[26]  Teresa M. Mata,et al.  Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: A review , 2010 .

[27]  J Tramper,et al.  Efficiency of light utilization of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under medium-duration light/dark cycles. , 2000, Journal of biotechnology.

[28]  Keat-Teong Lee,et al.  Microalgae biofuels: A critical review of issues, problems and the way forward. , 2012, Biotechnology advances.