DOCSLIB.ORG

Aspects of Feasibility of a Shipboard Algal Photobioreactor to Capture Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Aspects of Feasibility of a Shipboard Algal Photobioreactor to Capture Carbon Dioxide Emissions Aspects of Feasibility of a Shipboard Algal Photobioreactor to Capture Carbon Dioxide Emissions PhD Thesis Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy PhD Candidate: Konstantina Koutita Supervisory Team: Professor Julia Stegemann Dr Tristan Smith Dr Nithin Rai Studentship Funding: UCL Impact Award Octoply Ltd. Centre for Resource Efficiency & the Environment Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering University College London November, 2016 1 Dedicated to My parents, Christopher and Maria, My brother, George, and my sister, Maria-Christina. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank my supervisors for patiently helping me start and complete this project, by always being there to provide advice, offering to help with any kind of problem, and carefully reading through and commenting on my thesis. Specifically, I am grateful to Professor Julia Stegemann for her valuable guidance, for teaching me to be more efficient in my research and for motivating to work. I also greatly appreciate the focused, constructive and wise advice and the support given by Dr Tristan Smith. Last but not least, Dr Nithin Rai, the industrial sponsor of this project, provided the idea of this topic and numerous inspiring and creative suggestions throughout the project. I would also like to express my thanks to the financial support for my project from: (i) UCL Impact Award, (ii) Octoply Ltd, (iii) the Spark Award by Knowledge Transfer Network, and (iv) Community by Design social enterprise, for funding the photobioreactor materials purchase. I need to mention that the CEGE department of UCL offered me a friendly environment to work in, which is most vital for PhD studies. Special thanks would go to my fellow colleague, Alessandro Marco Lizzul, for his help in the lab and the great co-operation I had with him and his supervisor, Dr Luiza Campos. I would also like to thank the students Rena Seyidova, Michael Gonzalez, Shao Zong Wu, Xin Min Lee and Liusixing He, for their help with lab measurements and some schematics drawing. Regarding the lab work, my honest thanks go to Ian Sturtevant, Dr Judith Zhou, Catherine Unsworth, Dr Melisa Canales and the workshop’s staff for their assistance in using lab equipment and for helping with occasional construction work. I am also thankful to Dr Jong Kyu Kim, Dr Anna Bogush and Sajida Rasheed, for lending lab equipment; to Rokiah Yaman and Hamid Aghili for their help with the photobioreactor construction; to Professor Brian Whitton for the wild algae identification; and to Dr Sofie Vonlanthen for helping with some lab measurements. I also greatly appreciate the advice provided by Dr Alexandros Kiparissides, as well as Dr Mazaher Molaei Chalchooghi and the gPROMS technical support team, regarding gPROMS modelling issues I faced, being the only person in the department to use this software. Many thanks go to Dr Andy Chow for his help with statistical analysis, to Dr Frank Baganz for his advice during my upgrade viva, to Dr Christos Markides for motivating me, and to Rukayya I. Muazu for her companionship in UCL. Most special thanks go to my family for the continuous support and encouragement and for always believing in me, it has been most important during this period. Finally, I would like to thank in advance the examiners for reading through my thesis. 3 Declaration of Authenticity I, Konstantina Koutita, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made. Konstantina Koutita University College London 16 October 2015 4 Abstract The CO2 contribution of shipping to global emissions is about 3.1% and emission reductions are becoming urgent as part of global measures to combat air pollution. This study was the first to investigate the implementation of an algal photobioreactor (PBR) on a ship to treat its gas emissions and produce biomass for commercial purposes. The research examined various aspects of the challenges faced, focusing on the biomass cultivation process of the application. The target was to use the waste streams of the ship (i.e., flue gas, waste heat and wastewater) to fulfil the PBR’s material and energy needs. A PBR configuration is proposed and constructed, considering the additional complications of a shipboard system. Algae from natural surrounding water were cultivated in lab conditions to explore the potential of this approach in a shipboard PBR. A theoretical hydrodynamic model was developed to compute gas hold-up and liquid velocity in airlift PBRs. The different bubble sizes and drag coefficients used were shown to greatly impact the results, but the effect of bubbles is not easily distinguished in the experiments. A model of the effects of light intensity, nutrient concentration and temperature on microalgal growth kinetics was also developed, for use in optimising the operating conditions. Finally, practical aspects of integrating the PBR into the shipboard system were examined. Availability of space in the ballast tanks of tankers and ferries in the existing fleet to accommodate a PBR to treat their total emissions was estimated. The need for a large water mass limits this application, but the comparatively higher potential of tankers for this implementation was demonstrated. Maintaining the PBR’s temperature by sparging with hot flue gas was proven to be unfeasible and a novel heat exchanger design was suggested and modelled, using an input produced by the hydrodynamic model. 5 Glossary Absorptance Absorptance of the surface of a material is its effectiveness in absorbing radiant energy. Algae – Algae are aquatic photosynthetic organisms, and they may be Microalgae microscopic and mostly unicellular (microalgae), or large and poses plant-like characteristics (macroalgae). Macroalgae are not relevant to the present work; the term “algae” is therefore generally used in the following to refer to microalgae. ANOVA Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a procedure for comparing more than two groups and the effect of independent variables on dependent ones, as well as the interaction among the independent variables. It can be 1-way, where is one independent variable (one factor) with more than two conditions; or 2-way, where are two independent variables (factors) and can have multiple conditions. Broth Microalgal culture in water, including potential nutrient media, traces and impurities in liquid form. CH4 Methane Class – genus – In biological taxonomic classification, ranks in descending order of species – strains size are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, class, family, genus, and species. Class is a distinct rank of biological classification having its own distinctive name. A genus contains one or more species. Each named species of algae is referred to by its genus and species name. In a binomial algae name, the first part is the genera name, the second represents the species. A strain is an isolate that has been studied in the laboratory so that the details of the appearance and behaviour of the cells become known. For example, for the microalga Botryococcus braunii KMITL 2, Botryococcus is the genera, Botryococcus braunii is the species and KMITL 2 is the specific strain. CO2 Carbon dioxide Downcomer Airlift bioreactors are pneumatic gas-liquid contacting devices, in which gas injected into the bioreactor “riser” causes circulation of liquid via a linked “downcomer” where there is no sparging but smaller bubbles move downwards carried by the stream of the liquid which recirculates due to the density difference EEDI Energy Efficiency Design Index Exhaust gas – The report mainly uses the term flue gas to describe the exhaust Flue gas gas from combustion process. Exhaust gas is mentioned in the description of the “exhaust gas cleaning systems” of the ship, to keep consistency with the term used in the literature. Fixation Microalgal contribution to the reduction of CO2 contained in the flue gas, by using it as carbon source. This process is known as biofixation of CO2, but referred to simply as fixation in this study. Gas hold-up The ratio of gas phase volume to total volume HE Heat exchanger 6 IMO International Maritime Organisation Mixture When not determined by the context, it implies the mixture of algal broth with bubbles flowing within the liquid. MV Sound Motor Vessel Sound. A ship owned by Octoply Ltd N Nitrogen (element) N2 Nitrogen (molecular) Net energy ratio Energy production divided by consumption, which is the combustion energy of the produced algae divided by the total energy demand of the reactor. Hence when being higher than 1 the PBR is able to produce more energy than it consumes. NOx Nitrogen oxides (NOx and NO2) P Phosphorus (element) PAR Photosynthetic Active Radiation (measured in μmol/s/m2). Illumination on algae is measured in these units in this report. PBR Photobioreactor Petri dish A Petri dish is a cylindrical glass or plastic lidded dish used to culture cells in the lab. Productivity Refers to aerial, volumetric or daily biomass productivity and reported as grams of dry algae per square meter per littre, or per square meter per littre per day, respectively. When it refers to production of lipids, it is determined as lipid productivity. Pseudoreplication Pseudoreplication involves treatments that are not replicated but are treated as the same in statistical testing, e.g., t-test or ANOVA. There are several types of pseudoreplication: simple, sacrificial, temporal and implicit. Sacrificial pseudoreplication (referred to simply as sacrificial in this study) uses a number of wells/bottles/Petri dishes per experimental unit equal to the number of samples that need to be taken over time. Temporal pseudoreplication (resampling in this study) uses only one well/bottle/Petri dish, which is repeatedly sampled over time (South & Somers, n.d.).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Microalgae for Future Biodiesel Production: Algaculture, Environnement Impact Oumaima Ezzeroual1*, Nadia El Kadmiri1, 2
    Ezzeroual et al., Maghr. J. Pure & Appl. Sci., 7 N° 1 (2021) 8- 14 Maghrebian Journal of Pure and Applied Science ISSN : 2458-715X http://revues.imist.ma/?journal=mjpas&page=index https://doi.org/10.48383/IMIST.PRSM/mjpas-v6i2.22927 Microalgae for future biodiesel production: Algaculture, Environnement impact 1* 1, 2 Oumaima Ezzeroual , Nadia El Kadmiri 1 Sciences and Technology Department, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Taroudant, IBN ZOHR University, Taroudant, Morocco. 2 Laboratory of Medical Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco. *Corresponding Author; Email: [email protected]; Phone: +212658227800. Received 21 Novembre 2020, Revised 31 January 2021, Accepted 28 February 2021 Abstract Currently, the continued use of petroleum based fuels is considered unsustainable due to resource depletion and the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the environment, in addition to land and water degradation. Therefore, biofuels from renewable sources can be an alternative to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and contribute to maintaining a healthy global environment and economic profitability. Unfortunately, biodiesel produced from food stocks generally consumed by humans and animals can be a source of increased food market prices due to the increased use of arable land for growing biomass for the production of first and second generation biofuels. The production of biofuels from microalgae, as a third generation of biodiesel production, has some distinctive advantages, such as their rapid growth rate, greenhouse gas binding capacity and high lipid production capacity. This mini-study examines the current status of algae-based biofuels as a renewable energy source and their impact on the environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Industrial Photobioreactors and Scale-Up Concepts Jeremy Pruvost, François Le Borgne, Arnaud Artu, Jean-François Cornet, Jack Legrand
    Industrial Photobioreactors and Scale-Up Concepts Jeremy Pruvost, François Le Borgne, Arnaud Artu, Jean-François Cornet, Jack Legrand To cite this version: Jeremy Pruvost, François Le Borgne, Arnaud Artu, Jean-François Cornet, Jack Legrand. Industrial Photobioreactors and Scale-Up Concepts. Elsevier. Advances Chemical Engineering, 48, pp.257-310, 2016, Photobioreaction Engineering, 10.1016/bs.ache.2015.11.002. hal-02539887 HAL Id: hal-02539887 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02539887 Submitted on 10 Apr 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. CHAPTER FIVE Industrial Photobioreactors and Scale-Up Concepts Jeremy Pruvost*,1, Francois Le Borgne†, Arnaud Artu*,†, Jean-Franc¸ois Cornet{, Jack Legrand* *GEPEA, Universite de Nantes, CNRS, UMR6144, Bd de l’Universite, Saint-Nazaire Cedex, France †AlgoSource Technologies, Bd de l’Universite, Saint-Nazaire Cedex, France { Universite Clermont Auvergne, ENSCCF, Clermont-Ferrand, France and CNRS, Institut Pascal, Aubiere, France 1Corresponding author: e-mail address: [email protected] Contents 1. Introduction 258 2. PBR Engineering and Scaling Rules 259 2.1 Main Parameters Affecting PBR Biomass Productivity 259 3. Modeling PBRs 274 3.1 Introduction 274 3.2 Overview of Light-Limited Growth Modeling in a PBR 275 3.3 Kinetic Growth Model 276 3.4 Modeling of Radiative Transfer 279 3.5 Determination of Radiative Properties 281 3.6 Solar PBR Modeling 281 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Periodic Optimal Control for Biomass Productivity Maximization in a Photobioreactor Using Natural Light
    Periodic optimal control for biomass productivity maximization in a photobioreactor using natural light Frédéric Grognard, Andrei R. Akhmetzhanov, Olivier Bernard arXiv:1204.2906v1 [math.OC] 13 Apr 2012 RESEARCH REPORT N° 7929 April 12th, 2012 Project-Teams Biocore ISSN 0249-6399 ISRN INRIA/RR--7929--FR+ENG Periodic optimal control for biomass productivity maximization in a photobioreactor using natural light Frédéric Grognard∗, Andrei R. Akhmetzhanovy, Olivier Bernard∗ Project-Teams Biocore Research Report n° 7929 — April 12th, 2012 — 25 pages Abstract: We address the question of optimization of the microalgal biomass long term produc- tivity in the framework of production in photobioreactors under the influence of day/night cycles. For that, we propose a simple bioreactor model accounting for light attenuation in the reactor due to biomass density and obtain the control law that optimizes productivity over a single day through the application of Pontryagin’s maximum principle, with the dilution rate being the main control. An important constraint on the obtained solution is that the biomass in the reactor should be at the same level at the beginning and at the end of the day so that the same control can be applied everyday and optimizes some form of long term productivity. Several scenarios are possible depending on the microalgae’s strain parameters and the maximal admissible value of the dilution rate: bang-bang or bang-singular-bang control or, if the growth rate of the algae is very strong in the presence of light, constant maximal dilution. A bifurcation diagram is presented to illustrate for which values of the parameters these different behaviors occur.
    [Show full text]
  • This Is Not a Citeable Document
    This Meeting was Cancelled. THIS IS NOT A CITEABLE DOCUMENT NATIONAL SHELLFISHERIES ASSOCIATION Program and Abstracts of the 112th Annual Meeting March 29 – April 2, 2020 Baltimore, Maryland NSA 112th ANNUAL MEETING 1DWLRQDO6KHOO¿VKHULHV$VVRFLDWLRQ 7KH&URZQH3OD]D%DOWLPRUH,QQHU+DUERU+RWHO%$/7,025(0$5</$1' 0DUFK±$SULO 681'$<0$5&+ 6:30 PM 678'(1725,(17$7,21 DO NOT &DUUROO CITE 7:00 PM 35(6,'(17¶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
    [Show full text]
  • ORAL PRESENTATIONS Michael P. Acquafredda, Ximing Guo, And
    ORAL PRESENTATIONS Michael P. Acquafredda, Ximing Guo, and Daphne Munroe PHENOTYPIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC RESPONSE OF FARMED ATLANTIC SURFCLAMS (SPISULA SOLIDISSIMA) TO REPEATED HEAT STRESS AND THE FEASIBILITY OF SELECTIVE BREEDING FOR GREATER HEAT TOLERANCE Michael P. Acquafredda, Nicole Deck, Michael Whiteside, Daphne Munroe, Lisa M. Ragone Calvo, David Bushek, Michael De Luca, and Ximing Guo DIVERSIFICATION OF BIVALVE AQUACULTURE IN THE NORTHEAST: TESTING SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF BAY SCALLOPS (ARGOPECTEN IRRADIANS) IN NEW JERSEY M. Victoria Agnew, Colleen A. Burge, Morgan E. Eisenlord, and Carolyn S. Friedman CAN PACIFIC OYSTERS BE USED TO MITIGATE EELGRASS WASTING DISEASE? Ali A. Albadran and Masami Fujiwara DEVELOPMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES OF THE WHITE SHRIMP, LITOPENAEUS SETIFERUS, UNDER THE EXPOSURE OF PHENYLPYRAZOLE FIPRONIL Ali A. Albadran and Masami Fujiwara EFFECTS OF INSECTICIDES, FIPRONIL, AND IMIDACLOPRID ON THE GROWTH, SURVIVAL, AND BEHAVIOR OF BROWN SHRIMP, FARFANTEPENAEUS AZTECUS Pedro Alcivar-Marcillo, Miriam Alcivar-Arteaga, Gober Asunción, Mayra Galindo, Christian Saltos, Sofía Figueroa, Diana Villota, Diana Calvache, Benjamin Hall, Brenna Kelley, Joe Singh, Shana Singh, Cristian Argandona, Liliana Zuniga, Daniela Espinoza, Arturo Ruiz Luna, Cesar Alejandro Berlanga-Robles, Jorge Echevarria, Chika F. Ikeogu, and Acacia Alcivar-Warren THE MANGROVE GENOME AND EPIGENOME (MANGROVEENCODE) PROJECT: EFFORTS TO CONSERVE HEALTHY MANGROVES AND WETLANDS ECOSYSTEMS Acacia Alcivar-Warren ONE HEALTH EPIGENOMICS AND MICROBIOMES: FROM SOIL TO PEOPLE WORKSHOP: RECOGNITION TO WINNERS OF STUDENT TRAVEL AWARDS AND OUTSTANDING RESEARCHERS IN AQUACULTURE – ONE HEALTH PIONEERS ADDRESSING ECOSYSTEM, ANIMAL, AND PUBLIC HEALTH Acacia Alcivar-Warren THE SHRIMP GENOME AND EPIGENOME: A REVIEW OF GENOME SIZES, TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS, SIMPLE SEQUENCE REPEATS, INTEGRATED VIRUSES AND EPIGENETIC COMPONENTS OF PENAEIDS Ricky J.
    [Show full text]
  • Canada Invests in 'Clean-Tech' Aquaculture « Global Aquaculture Advocate
    5/21/2019 Canada invests in 'clean-tech' aquaculture « Global Aquaculture Advocate ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (/ADVOCATE/CATEGORY/ENVIRONMENTAL-SOCIAL- RESPONSIBILITY) Canada invests in ‘clean-tech’ aquaculture Monday, 20 May 2019 By Lauren Kramer DFO pledges millions to improve farms’ environmental performance The Sth’oqui Aquaculture Limited Partnership of the Sumas First Nation, which operates a 100-metric-ton tilapia farm in Chilliwack, British Columbia, now uses an anaerobic digester that converts sh waste to biogas, which is stored in these bags. https://www.aquaculturealliance.org/advocate/canada-invests-in-clean-tech-aquaculture/?headlessPrint=AAAAAPIA9c8r7gs82oWZBA 5/21/2019 Canada invests in 'clean-tech' aquaculture « Global Aquaculture Advocate A handful of aquaculture companies in British Columbia are upgrading their equipment to make their businesses cleaner, more sustainable and more ecient, thanks to grants they received from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans. DFO launched its Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program in 2017, pledging a total of CAN $20 million over four years to help the sheries and aquaculture industries improve their environmental performance. To date, $9.3 million has been committed. The largest grant distributed was $101,817 to the Sth’oqui Aquaculture Limited Partnership of the Sumas First Nation, which operates a 100-metric-ton tilapia farm in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The grant supports the installation of an anaerobic digester which converts sh waste to biogas, fertilizer and water. In the process it reduces waste and produces low-carbon energy to power the land-based facility. Craig Hougen, executive director of the Sema:th Development Corporation, the Sumas First Nation’s (https://bcafn.ca/community/sumas-rst-nation/) economic development corporation, said handling waste was the biggest challenge for the farm.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultivation of Algae in Photobioreactors for Biodiesel Production Jeremy Pruvost
    Cultivation of algae in photobioreactors for biodiesel production Jeremy Pruvost To cite this version: Jeremy Pruvost. Cultivation of algae in photobioreactors for biodiesel production. Ashok Pandey; Christian Larroche; Claude-Gilles Dussap; Edgard Gnansounou; Samir Kumar Khanal; Steven Ricke. Biofuels: Alternative Feedstocks and Conversion Processes for the Production of Liquid and Gaseous Biofuels (Second Edition), Elsevier, pp.629-659, 2019, Biomass, Biofuels, Biochemicals, 978-0-12- 816856-1. 10.1016/B978-0-12-816856-1.00026-9. hal-02539898 HAL Id: hal-02539898 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02539898 Submitted on 20 Apr 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. CHAPTER 26 Cultivation of Algae in Photobioreactors for Biodiesel Production Jeremy Pruvost GEPEA, University of Nantes, CNRS, UMR6144, Saint-Nazaire, France 26.1 INTRODUCTION Photosynthetic microorganisms such as microalgae and cyanobacteria (named for conve- nience “microalgae” in what follows, except when cited) have a high potential in biofuel pro- duction. Their main advantages are: solar production with higher surface productivities than plants, simultaneous consumption of inorganic carbon, allowing a null carbon balance exploi- tation, and possible production in closed systems, offering several advantages including an intensified, controlled production with very low environmental impact (no fertilizer is released and water can be reused).
    [Show full text]
  • High-Density Cultivation of Microalgae Continuously Fed with Unfiltered Water from a Recirculating Aquaculture System
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ZHAW digitalcollection High-density cultivation of microalgae continuously fed with unfiltered water from a recirculating aquaculture system Sophia Egloff, Fridolin Tschudi, Zala Schmautz, Dominik Refardt Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Natural Resource Sciences, Campus Grüental, CH-8820 Wädenswil, Switzerland Abstract Water from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) has been shown to be a suitable growth medium for microalgae and their cultivation can, therefore, be used to reduce RAS emissions. However, while efficient wastewater treatment is possible, the nutrient content of RAS water limits attainable microalgae biomass densities to 1-2 g l-1 at best, which requires frequent harvesting of microalgae. We have taken advantage of the constant evaporation of water from an open thin- layer photobioreactor (200 l volume, 18 m2 illuminated surface, artificial supply of CO2) to continuously add water from RAS to a microalgae culture and thereby provide nutrients for continued growth while evaporating all water. To test for a possible inhibitory effect of RAS water on microalgae growth, components of mineral medium were omitted stepwise in subsequent cultivations and replaced by RAS water as the only source of nutrients. This approach showed that microalgae can be grown successfully for up to three weeks in RAS water without additional nutrients and that high (20 g l-1) biomass densities can be attained. While growth in wastewater did not reach productivities measured in mineral medium, analysis of growth data suggested that this reduction was not due to an inhibitory effect of the RAS water but due to an insufficient supply rate of -1 nutrients, even though RAS water contained up to 158 mg l NO3-N.
    [Show full text]
  • Microalgae for Aquaculture
    Microalgae for aquaculture Michiel H.A. Michels Thesis committee Promotor Prof. Dr R.H. Wijffels Professor of Bioprocess Engineering Wageningen University Co-promotor Dr M.H. Vermuë Assistant professor, Bioprocess Engineering Wageningen University Other members Prof. Dr A.C. Smaal, Wageningen University Prof. J. Pruvost, University of Nantes, France Dr W.A. Brandenburg, Wageningen University Dr T.V. Fernandes, NIOO (Netherlands Institute of Ecology), Wageningen This research was conducted under the auspices of the Graduate School VLAG (Advanced studies in Food Technology, Agrobiotechnology, Nutrition and Health Sciences). Microalgae for aquaculture Michiel H.A. Michels Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. Dr M.J. Kropff, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Wednesday 13 May 2015 at 1.30 p.m. in the Aula. Michiel H.A. Michels Microalgae for aquaculture 158 pages PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL (2015) With references, with summaries in Dutch and English ISBN 978-94-6257-224-9 Contents Chapter 1 7 General introduction Chapter 2 15 Effects of shear stress on the microalgae Chaetoceros muelleri Chapter 3 35 Effect of biomass concentration on the productivity of Tetraselmis suecica in a pilot-scale tubular photobioreactor using natural sunlight Chapter 4 59 Growth of Tetraselmis suecica in a tubular photobioreactor on wastewater from a fish farm Chapter
    [Show full text]
  • Integrated Approach for Wastewater Treatment and Biofuel Production in Microalgae Biorefineries
    energies Review Integrated Approach for Wastewater Treatment and Biofuel Production in Microalgae Biorefineries Sanjeet Mehariya 1 , Rahul Kumar Goswami 2, Pradeep Verma 2, Roberto Lavecchia 3 and Antonio Zuorro 3,* 1 Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden; [email protected] 2 Bioprocess and Bioenergy Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, Rajasthan 305817, India; [email protected] (R.K.G.); [email protected] (P.V.) 3 Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Environment, Sapienza University of Rome, 00184 Rome, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: The increasing world population generates huge amounts of wastewater as well as large energy demand. Additionally, fossil fuel’s combustion for energy production causes the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other pollutants. Therefore, there is a strong need to find alternative green approaches for wastewater treatment and energy production. Microalgae biorefineries could represent an effective strategy to mitigate the above problems. Microalgae biorefineries are a sustain- able alternative to conventional wastewater treatment processes, as they potentially allow wastewater to be treated at lower costs and with lower energy consumption. Furthermore, they provide an effec- tive means to recover valuable compounds for biofuel production or other applications. This review focuses on the current scenario and future prospects of microalgae biorefineries aimed at combining wastewater treatment with biofuel production. First, the different microalgal cultivation systems are examined, and their main characteristics and limitations are discussed. Then, the technologies Citation: Mehariya, S.; Goswami, available for converting the biomass produced during wastewater treatment into biofuel are critically R.K.; Verma, P.; Lavecchia, R.; Zuorro, analyzed.
    [Show full text]
  • Closed Photobioreactor Assessments to Grow, Intensively, Light Dependent Microorganisms: a Twenty-Year Italian Outdoor Investigation
    The Open Biotechnology Journal, 2008, 2, 63-72 63 Closed Photobioreactor Assessments to Grow, Intensively, Light Dependent Microorganisms: A Twenty-Year Italian Outdoor Investigation Pietro Carlozzi* Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, Distaccamento di Firenze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Polo Scientifico, Via Madonna del Piano n. 10, 50019 Sesto F.no, Firenze, Italy Abstract: Twenty years of Italian outdoor investigations on closed photobioreactors are discussed in this review. Many photobioreactor designs have been projected; some have been built, tested and patented. The Italian research approach from tubular (single tube and traditional loop) to flat and column and again to tubular photobioreactors (coil and loops) has improved microalgal yield. It increased from 25.0 gm-2d-1 in 1986 (using a traditional loop set down on the ground) to 47.7 gm-2d-1 in 2003, when results of a new tubular undulating row photobioreactor (TURP) were reported. This very high TURP productivity was attributed to a light dilution growth-strategy using Arthrospira platensis; the photic ratio (Rf) ranged from 3 to 6. INTRODUCTION similar to that of 'fermentors'. The variety of bioprocesses is tremendous and many different designs of bioreactors have From the 1950's on, many cultural systems have been been developed to meet the different needs [37]. New tech- designed and patented for the growing of photosynthetic nologies are necessary to dilute solar radiation and/or to im- microorganisms. At first, the aims of the researchers were to prove light distribution in the culture thickness [38, 39]. One produce different types of biomass for the production of feed possible solution has been the use of optical fibers: when and food [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Aquaculture in Occitanie, France
    1 World Aquaculture Archimer March 2018, Volume 49 Issue 1 Pages 12-17 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00435/54695/ http://archimer.ifremer.fr © 2001-2018 World Aquaculture Society All Rights Reserved. Aquaculture in Occitanie, France Lane Alistair 1, Chatain Beatrice 2, Roque D'Orbcastel Emmanuelle 2 Please note that this is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available on the publisher Web site. Use AQUA 2018 logo somewhere near to the title The upcoming AQUA 2018 event #We R Aquaculture, co-organised by EAS and WAS, will take place in Occitanie. This is the name given to one of the new ‘super regions’ of France, created in 2016 from the former regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. Occitanie comes from the historical name of the broader region of southern France and the historic use of the Occitan language and its various dialects. Insert ‘map’ of France showing the Occitanie region in red and the location of Mpntpellier as the blue pin Its aquaculture activities cover the production of marine and freshwater fish and shellfish cultivated in the Thau lagoon, a special focus of this article. The region also produces Spirulina and more recently, other microalgae and macroalgae. Overall, France is one of Europe’s biggest aquaculture producers, with 262.012 t of production in 2015. The country has a long tradition of shellfish (216.917 t in 2015) and fish production (45.095 t in 2015). It was also the location of one of the precursors of the marine production sector, developing hatchery techniques for marine species, although production of market-size marine fish was just 4.567 t in 2015.
    [Show full text]