Abstract
A description is given of a reliable 1.7-L photobioreactor with a minimum maintenance requirement for continuous production of photosynthetic microorganisms. The reactor is without moving parts and equipped with two different spargers operated in dual sparging mode: sufficient mixing to keep the cells in suspension is obtained by sparging with air through two single orifice spargers which deliver large bubbles, and pure CO2 is supplied, controlled by pH, through a perforated membrane sparger which delivers small bubbles that give an efficient mass transfer of CO2 from gas to liquid. Separation of CO2 supply from air for mixing by dual sparging increased the transfer of CO2 from gas phase to liquid phase five fold relative to conventional sparging. The photoautotrophic microalga Rhodomonas sp. has been produced continuously for up to 415 d with a dilution rate of 0.6 d-1 and a steady state cell number of 107 cells mL-1. The productivity of Rhodomonas culture in the dual sparging photobioreactor was identical to the productivity of cultures grown with mechanical mixing.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Clausen I, Riisgård HU (1996) Growth, filtration and respiration in the mussel Mytilus edulis:no regulation of the filter-pump to nutritional needs. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 141: 37-45.
Eriksen NT, Iversen JJL (1995a) On-line determination of pigment composition and biomass in cultures of microalgae. Biotechnol. Techn. 9: 49-54.
Eriksen NT, Geest T, Iversen JJL (1996) Phototrophic growth in the lumostat: a photo-bioreactor with on-line optimization of light intensity. J. appl. Phycol. 8: 345-352.
Eriksen NT, Iversen JJL (1995) Photosynthetic pigments as nitrogen stores in the cryptophyte alga Rhodomonassp. J. mar. Biotechnol. 3: 193-195.
Eriksen NT, Iversen JJL (1997) On-line determination of respiration rates of aquatic organisms in a mono-phase oxystat at steady-state dissolved oxygen tension. Mar. Biol. 128: 181-189.
Gudin C, Chaumont D (1991) Cell fragility - the key problem of microalgae mass production in closed photobioreactors. Biores. Technol. 38: 145-151.
Guillard RRL (1975) Culture of phytoplankton for feeding marine invertebrates. In: Smith WL, Chanley MH (eds), Culture of Marine Invertebrate Animals. Plenum Press, New York: 29-60.
Iversen JJL (1981) A rapid sampling valve with minimal dead space for laboratory scale fermenters. Biotechnol. Bioengng 23: 437-440.
Martinez-Jeronimo F, Espinosa-Cháves F (1994) A laboratory-scale system formass culture of freshwater microalgae in polyethylene bags. J. appl. Phycol. 6: 423-425.
Molina Grima EM, Camacho FG, Pérez JAS, Sevilla JMF, Fernández FGA, Gómez AC (1994) A mathematical model of microalgal growth in light-limited chemostat culture. J. Chem. Tech. Biotechnol. 61: 167-173.
Nielsen AM, Eriksen NT, Iversen JJL, Riisgård HU (1995) Feeding, growth and respiration in the polychaetes Nereis diversicolor(facultative filter-feeder) and N. virens(omnivorous) - a comparative study. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 125: 149-158.
Petersen JK, Riisgård HU (1992) Filtration capacity of the ascidian Ciona intestinalisand its grazing impact in a shallow fjord. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 88: 9-17.
Petersen JK, Schou O, Thor P (1995) Growth and energetics in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 120: 175-184.
Poulsen BR, Iversen JJL (1998) Characterization of gas transfer and mixing in a bubble column equipped with a rubber membrane diffuser. Biotechnol. Bioengng 58: 633-641.
Riisgård HU (1991) Filtration rate and growth in the blue mussel, Mytilus edulisLinneaus, 1758: dependence on algal concentration. J. Shellfish. Res. 10: 29-35.
Riisgård HU, Vedel A, Boye H, Larsen PS (1992) Filter-net structure and pumping activity in the polychaete Nereis diversicolor:effects of temperature and pump-modelling. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 83: 79-89.
Riisgård HU, Thomassen S, Jakobsen H, Weeks J, Larsen PS (1993) Suspension feeding in marine sponges Halichondria paniceaand Haliclona urceolus: effect of temperature on filtration rate and energy cost of pumping. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 96: 177-188.
Silva HJ, Cortiñas T, Ertola RJ (1987) Effect of hydrodynamic stress on Dunaliellagrowth. J. Chem. Tech. Biotechnol. 40: 41-49.
van Liere L, Walsby AE (1982) Interactions of cyanobacteria with light. In: Carr NG, Whitton BA (eds), The Biology of Cyanobacteria. Blackwell, Oxford: 9-45.
Vedel A, Riisgård HU (1993) Filter-feeding in the polychaete Nereis diversicolor: growth and bioenergetics. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 100: 145-152.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Eriksen, N.T., Poulsen, B.R. & Lønsmann Iversen, J.J. Dual sparging laboratory-scale photobioreactor for continuous production of microalgae. Journal of Applied Phycology 10, 377–382 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008029521111
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008029521111