Abstract

CHICAIZA ORTIZ, Cristhian David et al. Laboratory test for the production of algae biomass in a batch photobioreactor. RCTU [online]. 2021, vol.8, n.1, pp.1-7. ISSN 1390-7697.  https://doi.org/10.26423/rctu.v8i1.541.

The economic and energetic feasibility of microalgae-based processes requires an efficient cultivation system. Algal biomass is generated based on the ability to grow relatively fast, be harvested daily and cultivated in earthen ponds or closed photobioreactors that occupy marginal farmland. The objective of the present work was to produce algal biomass in a laboratory-scale batch photobioreactor. The equipment had a capacity of 15 liters, LED lamps of 841.91 Lx distributed in 6 acrylic cylinders. The culture was carried out for three weeks. The first three cylinders contained strains of Chlorella vulgaris and the other three Scenedesmus sp. For the control of light exposure time, a timer was used, programmed in photoperiods of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was supplied to the culture through an air pump with a flow rate of 0. 0378 cm³ of CO2 /s, daily pH controls were also performed, adjusting it to a range between 7.5 and 8.5, as well as absorbance values, measured at 750 nm, to evaluate the growth of the microalgae. The biomass was sedimented in 20liter containers, the supernatant was removed, the wet biomass was centrifuged for 6 minutes at 840 rpm, keeping only the pellet. As a result, the freeze-dried samples retained the properties of the dry biomass: 6.59 g of C. vulgaris and 9.74 g of Scenedesmus sp., the 2 samples were kept refrigerated, it was concluded that there was a higher production of C. vulgaris compared to Scenedesmus sp.

Keywords : Scenedesmus; Chlorella vulgaris; Environmental Biotechnology; microalgae; photobioreactor.

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