• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1890-1896
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• 2006

Lumostatic operation for cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis was assessed to test the scale-up strategy of photobioreactors. Lumostatic operation is a method of maintaining a proper light condition based on the specific light uptake rate ($q_e$), by cells. Lumostatic operations were performed in 0.4-, 2-, 10-, and 30-1 scale bubble column photobioreactors and the results were compared with cultures illuminated with constant light intensity. Significant differences were observed in the maximal cell concentrations obtained from 0.4-, 2-, 10-, and 30-1 scale photobioreactors under constant light intensity, yielding the maximal cell concentrations of $2.8{\times}10^5$, $2.2\times10^5$, $1.5\times10^5$, and $1.1\times10^5$ cells/ml, respectively. The maximal cell concentration in a 0.4-1 photobioreactor under lumostatic operation was $4.3\times10^5$ cells/ml. Furthermore, those in 2-, 10-, and 30-1 scale photobioreactors were about the same as that in the 0.4-1 photobioreactor. The results suggest that lumostatic operation with proper $q_e$ is a good strategy for increasing the cell growth of Haematococcus pluvialis compared with a constant supply of light energy. Therefore, lumostatic operation is not only an efficient way to achieve high cell density cultures with minimal power consumption in microalgal cultures but it is also a perfect parameter for the scale-up of photobioreactors.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.41-48
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• 2023

The objective of the present study was to improve the biomass productivity of newly isolated freshwater green microalga Parachlorella sp. This was accomplished by culture conditions optimization, including CO₂ concentration, superficial gas velocity, and light intensity, in 0.5 L bubble column photobioreactors. The supplied CO₂ concentration and gas velocity varied from 0.032% (air) to 10% and 0.02 m/s - 0.11 m/s, respectively, to evaluate their effects on growth kinetics. Next, to maximize the production rate of Parachlorella sp., a lumostatic operation based on a specific light uptake rate (q_e) was applied. From these results, the optimal CO₂ concentration in the supplied gas and the gas velocity were determined to be 5% and 0.064 m/s, respectively. For the lumostatic operation at 10.2 µmol/g/s, biomass productivity and photon yield showed significant increases of 83% and 66%, respectively, relative to cultures under constant light intensity. These results indicate that the biomass productivity of Parachlorella sp. can be improved by optimizing gas properties and light control as cell concentrations vary over time.