Algae: Biomass Production Content Analysis

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Algae have recently received a lot of attention as a new biomass source for the production of renewable energy. Some of the main characteristics which set algae apart from other biomass sources are that algae (can) have a high biomass yield per unit of light and area, can have a high oil or starch content, do not require agricultural land, fresh water is not essential and nutrients can be supplied by wastewater and CO2 by combustion gas. A microalga is a class of plants distributed widely in both terrestrial and marine environments. Currently more than 40 different species of microalgae were studied for multiple purposes such as fresh water environmental protection and biomass production content analysis. Because autotrophic microalgae produce …show more content…

Photo bioreactors can have different sizes and shapes: plastic bags, flat panels, tubes, fermenter like and others. Vertical tubes are among the most popular system due to their relatively easy maintenance, low cost and high surface to volume ratio (Suali and Sarbatly, 2012). Among the advantages of using photo bioreactors are resistance to contamination by wild algae strains or herbivores, high productivity per unit area, and the possibility of easily controlling various parameters including pH, temperature, and light intensity. The PBR can be placed indoors or outdoors, using sunlight, artificial light or a mixture of both. An interesting variation of a lighting system is the use of optical fibers to carry the outdoor sunlight into an indoor culture (Chen et al., …show more content…

In fact, the enzyme responsible for CO2 fixation, Rubisco (Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase), has a low affinity for CO2 and also functions as an oxidize of 1,5 bisphosphate, interacting with O2. Therefore, O2 is a competitive inhibitor with CO2 and since to the atmospheric concentration of CO2 is much lower than that of O2, , oxygen can have a significant effect. Evolutionarily this problem has been managed by the development of carbon concentration mechanisms (CCM), where the cell locally increases the CO2 concentration around the Rubisco enzyme to ensure its function in CO2 fixation (Giordano et al., 2005). This mechanism is wide spread amongst the algae and illustrates the advantages of raising the CO2 concentration in mass cultures. Indeed, sparging CO2 into the culture medium is known to increase its cellular concentration and two different approaches are frequently reported, the use of CO2 to adjust the pH, and CO2 enrichment as a way to mitigate flue gases (Grobbelaar, 2000; Rodolfi et al., 2009; Yoo et al., 2010; McGinn et al., 2011). Of course any feedstock used in large scale production will play an important role on the final price and CO2 is not an exception. Thus, this type production should optimally be coupled to a bioremediation

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