A Solar Photobioreactor for the Production of Biohydrogen from Microalgae -December 2012
L Pantí, P Chávez, D Robledo, R Patiño-Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology II, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6650.
The green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is proposed to produce hydrogen in a low-cost system using the solar radiation in Yucatan, Mexico. A two-step process is necessary with a closed photo bioreactor, in which the algae are firstly growth and then induced for hydrogen generation. Preliminary results are presented in this work with some planning for the future. Different culture broths, temperatures and light intensities were tested for biomass and hydrogen production in laboratory conditions. The first experiments in external conditions with solar radiation and without temperature control have been performed, showing the potential of this technique at larger scales. However, some additional work must be done in order to optimize the culture maintenance, particularly in relation with the temperature control, the light radiation and the carbon dioxide supply, with the idea of keeping an economic production. … These measurements were correlated with the optical density of the culture. Spectrophotometer (StellarNet, EPP2000) was used with a 2-cm length tip cell to obtain the optical density at 660 nm, using the corresponding medium as the blank and for dilution when necessary.
Fig. 1. A picture showing cellular growth at external conditions
