Effect of shear stress on the growth of continuous culture of Synechocystis PCC 6803 in a flat-panel photobioreactor

Lab-scale photobioreactor systems: principles, applications, and scalability

Phototrophic microorganisms that convert carbon dioxide are being explored for their capacity to solve different environmental issues and produce bioactive compounds for human therapeutics and as food additives. Full-scale phototrophic cultivation of microalgae and cyanobacteria can be done in open ponds or closed photobioreactor systems, which have a broad range of volumes. This review focuses on laboratory-scale photobioreactors and their different designs. Illuminated microtiter plates and microfluidic devices offer an option for automated high-throughput studies with microalgae. Illuminated shake flasks are used for simple uncontrolled batch studies. The application of illuminated bubble column reactors strongly emphasizes homogenous gas distribution, while illuminated flat plate bioreactors offer high and uniform light input. Illuminated stirred-tank bioreactors facilitate the application of very well-defined reaction conditions. Closed tubular photobioreactors as well as open photobioreactors like small-scale raceway ponds and thin-layer cascades are applied as scale-down models of the respective large-scale bioreactors. A few other less common designs such as illuminated plastic bags or aquarium tanks are also used mainly because of their relatively low cost, but up-scaling of these designs is challenging with additional light-driven issues. Finally, this review covers recommendations on the criteria for photobioreactor selection and operation while up-scaling of phototrophic bioprocesses with microalgae or cyanobacteria.

Effects of shear stress on microalgae - A review

Cultivation of microalgae requires consideration of shear stress, which is generated by operations such as mixing, circulation, aeration and pumping that are designed to facilitate mass and heat transfer as well as light distribution in cultures. Excessive shear stress can cause increased cell mortality, decreased growth rate and cell viability, or even cell lysis. This review examines the sources of shear stress in different cultivation systems, shear stress tolerance of different microalgal species and the physiological factors and environmental conditions that may affect shear sensitivity, and potential approaches to mitigate the detrimental effects of shear stress. In general, green algae have the greatest tolerance to shear stress, followed by cyanobacteria, haptophytes, red algae, and diatoms, with dinoflagellates comprising the most shear-sensitive species. The shear-sensitivity of microalgae is determined primarily by cell wall strength, cell morphology and the presence of flagella. Turbulence, eddy size, and viscosity are the most prominent parameters affecting shear stress to microalgal cells during cultivation.

Enhancement of lipid productivity by adopting multi-stage continuous cultivation strategy in Nannochloropsis gaditana

In the present study, a novel process-based cultivation system was designed to improve lipid productivity of Nannochloropsis gaditana, an oleaginous microalga that has high potential for biofuel production. Specifically, four flat-panel photobioreactors were connected in series, and this system was subjected to continuous chemostat cultivation by feeding fresh medium to the first reactor at dilution rates of 0.028 and 0.056day^-1, which were determined based on Monod kinetics. The results show that the serially connected photobioreactor system achieved 20.0% higher biomass productivity and 46.1% higher fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) productivity than a conventional single photobioreactor with equivalent dilution rate. These results suggest that a process-based approach using serially connected photobioreactors for microalgal cultivation can improve the productivity of lipids that can be used for biofuel production.