Figure 1: A rack of horizonal, tubular bioreactors.
Project goal:
The project is to design, build, and validate of a unique commercial grade, horizontal, tubular photobioreactor. The bioreactor should be a vertical rack of at least eight plexiglass tubes, running horizontally, and side by side with identical additional tubes, all in one row (as in Figure 3). Each tube should have an internal diameter of 0.24 cm. The length of the tubes will be optimized for carbon capture by algal cells. The rack will have one fluid pump to circulate the culture. Each tube should have a long LED fixture (Blue-Red LEDs) and attached to the LED fixture, there should be fractal grids perpendicular to the flow.
The type and spacing of the grids will be determined by experiments with Particle Image Velocimetry. Ports should be located along each tube to inject micronutrients and hydrated CO2. Sensors for pH, pCO2, nitrate, phosphate, irradiance, and optical density should be incorporated into a microcontroller and data logged. It is possible that AI could be integrated into the system to automate it. The system will be validated by growing microalgal cells at a high density and growth rate while measuring CO2 uptake.
