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ChemEngineering
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Industrial Cultivation of Microalgae: Technologies, Applications and Challenges
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Industrial Cultivation of Microalgae: Technologies, Applications and Challenges

A special issue of ChemEngineering (ISSN 2305-7084).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 18001

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Eleonora Sforza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering DII, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova, Italy
Interests: bioprocess engineering; microalgae cultivation; bioremediation; photosynthetic organisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Industrial applications of microalgae are constantly growing, and research is fervent. However, many issues remain uncovered that may hinder an efficient technological transfer from academia to the world of production. What are the future applications of microalgae? Fuel, food, nutraceuticals, wastewater, agriculture are some amazing possibilities, but upscaling is still limited. Can the modeling approach help to overcome the several issues related to photosynthetic efficiency? How do the operating conditions affect the productivity? Is artificial light a sustainable alternative?

This Special Issue of ChemEngineering aims at updating our knowledge about technological and research advancements in this field.

Modeling and experimental manuscripts, as well as reviews dealing with the most significative microalgal-related processes and operations, are particularly welcome.

Dr. Eleonora Sforza
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ChemEngineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • growth modeling
  • process simulation
  • microalgal downstream
  • artificial light
  • industrial application of microalgae

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5142 KiB  
Article
Advanced HRT-Controller Aimed at Optimising Nitrogen Recovery by Microalgae: Application in an Outdoor Flat-Panel Membrane Photobioreactor
by Juan Francisco Mora-Sánchez, Josué González-Camejo, Aurora Seco and María Victoria Ruano
ChemEngineering 2022, 6(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering6020024 - 16 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3151
Abstract
A fuzzy knowledge-based controller of hydraulic retention time (HRT) was designed and tested in an outdoor membrane photobioreactor (MPBR) to improve nitrogen recovery from a microalgae cultivation system, maintaining the algae as photosynthetically active as possible and limiting their competition with other microorganisms. [...] Read more.
A fuzzy knowledge-based controller of hydraulic retention time (HRT) was designed and tested in an outdoor membrane photobioreactor (MPBR) to improve nitrogen recovery from a microalgae cultivation system, maintaining the algae as photosynthetically active as possible and limiting their competition with other microorganisms. The hourly flow of the MPBR system was optimised by adjusting the influent flow rate to the outdoor environmental conditions which microalgae were exposed to at any moment and to the nitrogen uptake capacity of the culture. A semi-empirical photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) prediction model was calibrated using total cloud cover (TCC) forecast. Dissolved oxygen, standardised to 25 °C (DO25), was used as an on-line indicator of microalgae photosynthetic activity. Different indexes, based on suspended solids (SS), DO25, and predicted and real PAR, were used as input variables, while the initial HRT of each operating day (HRT0) and the variation of HRT (ΔHRT) served as output variables. The nitrogen recovery efficiency, measured as nitrogen recovery rate (NRR) per nitrogen loading rate (NLR) in pseudo-steady state conditions, was improved by 45% when the HRT-controller was set in comparison to fixed 1.25-d HRT. Consequently, the average effluent total soluble nitrogen (TSN) concentration in the MPBR was reduced by 47%, accomplishing the discharge requirements of the EU Directive 91/271/EEC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Cultivation of Microalgae: Technologies, Applications and Challenges)
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21 pages, 3185 KiB  
Article
The Oxygen Paradigm—Quantitative Impact of High Concentrations of Dissolved Oxygen on Kinetics and Large-Scale Production of Arthrospira platensis
by Sabine Franke, Juliane Steingröwer, Thomas Walther and Felix Krujatz
ChemEngineering 2022, 6(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering6010014 - 2 Feb 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3689
Abstract
The cultivation of Arthrospira platensis in tubular photobioreactors (tPBRs) presents a promising approach for the commercial production of nutraceuticals and food products as it can achieve high productivity and effective process control. In closed photobioreactors, however, high amounts of photosynthetically produced oxygen can [...] Read more.
The cultivation of Arthrospira platensis in tubular photobioreactors (tPBRs) presents a promising approach for the commercial production of nutraceuticals and food products as it can achieve high productivity and effective process control. In closed photobioreactors, however, high amounts of photosynthetically produced oxygen can accumulate. So far, there has been a wide range of discussion on how dissolved oxygen concentrations (DOCs) affect bioprocess kinetics, and the subject has mainly been assessed empirically. In this study, we used photorespirometry to quantify the impact of DOCs on the growth kinetics and phycocyanin content of the widely cultivated cyanobacterium A. platensis. The photorespirometric routine revealed that the illumination intensity and cell dry weight concentration are important interconnected process parameters behind the impact that DOCs have on the bioprocess kinetics. Unfavorable process conditions such as low biomass concentrations or high illumination intensities yielded significant growth inhibition and reduced the phycocyanin content of A. platensis by up to 35%. In order to predict the biomass productivity of the large-scale cultivation of A. platensis in tPBRs, a simple process model was extended to include photoautotrophic oxygen production and accumulation in the tPBR to evaluate the performance of two configurations of a 5000 L tPBR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Cultivation of Microalgae: Technologies, Applications and Challenges)
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12 pages, 1717 KiB  
Article
Mass Transfer Features of Wavy-Bottomed Cascade Photobioreactors
by Monica Moroni, Giorgia Sed, Agnese Cicci, Barbara Mazzarotta, Nicola Verdone, Giuseppe Torzillo and Marco Bravi
ChemEngineering 2021, 5(4), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering5040086 - 13 Dec 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2700
Abstract
It has been suggested that the energy-efficient production of microalgae biomass can be more easily obtained in short light path photobioreactors that can be operated at high biomass concentration. On the downside, however, high biomass concentrations also require an efficient gas exchange rate [...] Read more.
It has been suggested that the energy-efficient production of microalgae biomass can be more easily obtained in short light path photobioreactors that can be operated at high biomass concentration. On the downside, however, high biomass concentrations also require an efficient gas exchange rate to avoid metabolic growth limitation or inhibition. A cascade photobioreactor featuring a thin liquid layer flowing down a sloping, wavy-bottomed surface can be operated at a biomass concentration that is much higher compared to most usual open-type equipment. Liquid flow, upon investigation, proved to exhibit peculiar “local recirculation” hydrodynamics, potentially conducive to the mixing of superficial and deep zones of the photobioreactor. Mass transfer coefficient represents a useful parameter to optimize the performance of a microalgal photobioreactor and its scale-up. The aim of the present article is to discuss the experimental mass transfer features of this novel type of photobioreactor and highlight expected opportunities and issues entailed by different ways of installing and operating such novel types of photobioreactors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Cultivation of Microalgae: Technologies, Applications and Challenges)
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18 pages, 3735 KiB  
Article
Microalgae Monitoring in Microscale Photobioreactors via Multivariate Image Analysis
by Christopher Castaldello, Alessio Gubert, Eleonora Sforza, Pierantonio Facco and Fabrizio Bezzo
ChemEngineering 2021, 5(3), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering5030049 - 11 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2998
Abstract
Microscale photobioreactors for microalgae growth represent an interesting technology for fast data production and biomass characterization; however, the small scale poses severe monitoring challenges, as traditional methods cannot be used. Non-invasive techniques are therefore needed to quantify biomass concentration and other culture properties, [...] Read more.
Microscale photobioreactors for microalgae growth represent an interesting technology for fast data production and biomass characterization; however, the small scale poses severe monitoring challenges, as traditional methods cannot be used. Non-invasive techniques are therefore needed to quantify biomass concentration and other culture properties, for example, pigment composition. To this purpose, a soft sensing approach based on multivariate image regression is proposed to exploit RGB images and/or PAM-imaging chlorophyll fluorescence. Different PLS (Partial Least Squares) regression models are used to estimate: (a) biomass concentration from the features extracted by RGB indices and/or PAM-imaging chlorophyll fluorescence measurements; and (b) Chlorophyll a content per cell from the features extracted by RGB indices and biomass concentration measurements. Every single model is aimed at characterizing the microalgae culture at different light intensities during batch growth. Results show that the proposed monitoring approach is as accurate as traditional measurement approaches and may represent a promising methodology for fast and inexpensive monitoring of microscale photobioreactors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Cultivation of Microalgae: Technologies, Applications and Challenges)
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14 pages, 3549 KiB  
Article
Consumer Attitudes towards Microalgae Production and Microalgae-Based Agricultural Products: The Cases of Almería (Spain) and Livorno (Italy)
by Tomás Lafarga, Carlo Pieroni, Giuliana D’Imporzano, Lorenzo Maggioni, Fabrizio Adani and Gabriel Acién
ChemEngineering 2021, 5(2), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering5020027 - 28 May 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3999
Abstract
The production of microalgal biomass and products derived thereof for a wide variety of applications is a hot research topic, with the number of facilities being built and products and biologically active molecules launched into the market increasing every year. The aim of [...] Read more.
The production of microalgal biomass and products derived thereof for a wide variety of applications is a hot research topic, with the number of facilities being built and products and biologically active molecules launched into the market increasing every year. The aim of the current study was to identify the attitudes of citizens in Almería (Spain) and Livorno (Italy) towards the construction of a microalgae production plant and a biorefinery in their cities and also their opinions about the microalgae-based products that could be produced. Overall, in Almería (Spain), a NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude towards the construction of a microalgal production facility and especially towards a microalgal biorefinery was observed, despite the strong microalgal industry in the region and the higher knowledge of citizens about microalgae. In both locations, but especially in Livorno (Italy), microalgae-based biostimulants, biofertilisers, and aquafeeds were well accepted. Proximity was the main factor affecting the acceptance of a microalgae producing facility. Consumer knowledge about microalgal biotechnology and the health and environmental benefits of this valuable raw material are scarce, and opinions are based on drivers other than knowledge. After gaining more knowledge about microalgal biorefineries, most of the responses in Almería (47%) and Livorno (61%) were more positive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Cultivation of Microalgae: Technologies, Applications and Challenges)
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