Advanced integration of fluid dynamics and photosynthetic reaction kinetics for microalgae culture systems

BackgroundPhotosynthetic microalgae have been in the spotlight of biotechnological production (biofuels, lipids, etc), however, current barriers in mass cultivation of microalgae are limiting its successful industrialization. Therefore, a mathematical model integrating both the biological and hydrodynamical parts of the cultivation process may improve our understanding of relevant phenomena, leading to further optimization of the microalgae cultivation.ResultsWe introduce a unified multidisciplinary simulation tool for microalgae culture systems, particularly the photobioreactors. Our approach describes changes of cell growth determined by dynamics of heterogeneous environmental conditions such as irradiation and mixing of the culture. Presented framework consists of (i) a simplified model of microalgae growth in a culture system (the advection-diffusion-reaction system within a phenomenological model of photosynthesis and photoinhibition), (ii) the fluid dynamics (Navier-Stokes equations), and (iii) the irradiance field description (Beer-Lambert law). To validate the method, a simple case study leading to hydrodynamically induced fluctuating light conditions was chosen. The integration of computational fluid dynamics (ANSYS Fluent) revealed the inner property of the system, the flashing light enhancement phenomenon, known from experiments.ConclusionOur physically accurate model of microalgae culture naturally exhibits features of real system, can be applied to any geometry of microalgae mass cultivation and thus is suitable for biotechnological applications.

[1]  V. S. Vaidhyanathan,et al.  Transport phenomena , 2005, Experientia.

[2]  John W. Goodrich,et al.  An unsteady time asymptotic flow in the square driven cavity , 1990 .

[3]  Il-Hwan Seo,et al.  Review: Application of computational fluid dynamics for modeling and designing photobioreactors for microalgae production: A review , 2011 .

[4]  J. Peeters,et al.  Dynamic behaviour of a model for photosynthesis and photoinhibition , 1993 .

[5]  Sandro Macchietto,et al.  Computational Issues in Hybrid Multizonal/Computational Fluid Dynamics Models , 2005 .

[6]  Sergej Celikovský,et al.  Model for Photosynthesis and Photoinhibition: Parameter Identification Based on the Harmonic Irradiation $O_{2}$ Response Measurement , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.

[7]  John S. Burlew,et al.  Algal culture from laboratory to pilot plant. , 1953 .

[8]  David Sinton,et al.  Photon management for augmented photosynthesis , 2016, Nature Communications.

[9]  Sandro Macchietto,et al.  General hybrid multizonal/CFD approach for bioreactor modeling , 2003 .

[10]  G. Taylor.  Stability of a Viscous Liquid Contained between Two Rotating Cylinders , 1923 .

[11]  Javier Ruiz-León,et al.  Singular perturbation based solution to optimal microalgal growth problem and its infinite time horizon analysis , 2008, 2008 47th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[12]  Sergej Celikovský,et al.  Experimental design for parameter estimation of two time-scale model of photosynthesis and photoinhibition in microalgae , 2010, Math. Comput. Simul..

[13]  Karl Schügerl,et al.  Bioreaction Engineering: Modeling and Control , 1987 .

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

[15]  Jose C. Merchuk,et al.  A model integrating fluid dynamics in photosynthesis and photoinhibition processes , 2001 .

[16]  J. Peeters,et al.  A model for the relationship between light intensity and the rate of photosynthesis in phytoplankton , 1988 .

[17]  Xiao Chen,et al.  Progress of microalgae biofuel’s commercialization , 2017 .

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

[19]  Javier Ruiz-León,et al.  Bilinear system as a modelling framework for analysis of microalgal growth , 2007, Kybernetika.

[20]  Dalibor Stys,et al.  Growth impact of hydrodynamic dispersion in a Couette-Taylor bioreactor , 2011, Math. Comput. Model..

[21]  Erlend Magnus Viggen,et al.  The Lattice Boltzmann Equation , 2017 .

[22]  Véronique Halloin,et al.  Hydrodynamics and mass transfer in a Couette–Taylor bioreactor for the culture of animal cells , 2003 .

[23]  S. Succi.  The Lattice Boltzmann Equation , 2018, Oxford Scholarship Online.

[24]  Phang Siew Moi,et al.  Handbook of Microalgal Culture. Biotechnology and Applied Phycology , 2004, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[25]  Jack Legrand,et al.  Simulation of microalgae growth in limiting light conditions: Flow effect , 2002 .

[26]  Lino J. Alvarez-Vázquez,et al.  Optimal control of a bioreactor , 2010, Appl. Math. Comput..

[27]  Yebo Li,et al.  Integration of biological kinetics and computational fluid dynamics to model the growth of Nannochloropsis salina in an open channel raceway , 2015, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[28]  Milan Straškraba,et al.  Effect of photoinhibition on algal photosynthesis: a dynamic model , 2000 .

[29]  Xiaoxi Wu,et al.  Simulation of algae growth in a bench-scale bubble column reactor. , 2002, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[30]  E. Molina Grima,et al.  Analysis of photobioreactors for culturing high-value microalgae and cyanobacteria via an advanced diagnostic technique: CARPT , 2003 .

[31]  Claude-Gilles Dussap,et al.  A simplified monodimensional approach for modeling coupling between radiant light transfer and growth kinetics in photobioreactors , 1995 .

[32]  Dalibor Stys,et al.  Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Modelling and simulation of photosynthetic microorganism growth : Random walk vs . Finite difference method , 2011 .

[33]  Milan Straškraba,et al.  A mechanistic model of the adaptation of phytoplankton photosynthesis , 1993 .

[34]  Benoît Chachuat,et al.  Modelling of Microalgae Culture Systems with Applications to Control and Optimization. , 2016, Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology.

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

[36]  Daniel Chaumont,et al.  Cell fragility — The key problem of microalgae mass production in closed photobioreactors , 1991 .

[37]  C. Bruneau,et al.  The 2D lid-driven cavity problem revisited , 2006 .

[38]  Jérémy Pruvost,et al.  Benefits and limitations of modeling for optimization of Porphyridium cruentum cultures in an annular photobioreactor. , 2003, Journal of biotechnology.

[39]  U. Ghia,et al.  Procedure for Estimation and Reporting of Uncertainty Due to Discretization in CFD Applications , 2007 .

[40]  F. Bezzo,et al.  An Identifiable State Model To Describe Light Intensity Influence on Microalgae Growth , 2014, Industrial & engineering chemistry research.

[41]  Shinichiro Hirabayashi,et al.  Development of virtual photobioreactor for microalgae culture considering turbulent flow and flashing light effect , 2010 .

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

[43]  Dalibor Stys,et al.  The lattice Boltzmann method in bioreactor design and simulation , 2013, Math. Comput. Model..