Various types of photobioreactors are vertical column photobioreactors, cylindrical
photobioreactors and flat or panel-type photobioreactors. Artificial lighting is usually
used when bulk production algal biomass is done. Photobioreactors also have an
advantage of a better control on various parameters such as temperature, pH, CO 2
concentration, etc. but they are costlier, therefore, a combination of open pond and
photobioreactors can be profitable.
Various harvesting methods are used in order to separate the algal biomass from
culture suspension which in turn depends on the nature of the microalgae, its shear
sensitivity, culture medium and cost involved. Various separation methods can be
applied such as centrifugation, flotation, filtration, etc. with the addition of chemical
agents to algal biomass to induce algal flocculation for harvesting. Macro-filtration
(for larger microalgae), micro-filtration and ultra-filtration are some of the filtration
techniques which are widely used.
Biodiesel production requires the culture of algae which in turn depends on
various factors like the content of free fatty acids and triglycerides, growth rate of
algal biomass, availability of nutrients, resistance to changes in environmental
conditions (light, temperature), ease of isolation and processing of biomass. Therefore, selecting the most appropriate procedure of algal production according to
Fig. 2.1 Stages of biodiesel production from microalgal biomass (adapted from Roy and Das 2015;
Rodionova et al. 2017)
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N. Jaiswal et al.
photobioreactors and flat or panel-type photobioreactors. Artificial lighting is usually
used when bulk production algal biomass is done. Photobioreactors also have an
advantage of a better control on various parameters such as temperature, pH, CO 2
concentration, etc. but they are costlier, therefore, a combination of open pond and
photobioreactors can be profitable.
Various harvesting methods are used in order to separate the algal biomass from
culture suspension which in turn depends on the nature of the microalgae, its shear
sensitivity, culture medium and cost involved. Various separation methods can be
applied such as centrifugation, flotation, filtration, etc. with the addition of chemical
agents to algal biomass to induce algal flocculation for harvesting. Macro-filtration
(for larger microalgae), micro-filtration and ultra-filtration are some of the filtration
techniques which are widely used.
Biodiesel production requires the culture of algae which in turn depends on
various factors like the content of free fatty acids and triglycerides, growth rate of
algal biomass, availability of nutrients, resistance to changes in environmental
conditions (light, temperature), ease of isolation and processing of biomass. Therefore, selecting the most appropriate procedure of algal production according to
Fig. 2.1 Stages of biodiesel production from microalgal biomass (adapted from Roy and Das 2015;
Rodionova et al. 2017)
42
N. Jaiswal et al.