Biotechnology of algal biomass production: review of outdoor mass culture systems

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Biotechnology of algal biomass production: a review of systems for outdoor mass culture

Journal - Journal of Applied Phycology
Publisher - Springer Netherlands
Subject - Biomedical and Life Sciences
Issue - Volume 5, Number 6 / December, 1993
SpringerLink Date - Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Biotechnology of algal biomass production: a review of systems for outdoor mass culture
Daniel Chaumont1
(1)
Centre de Cadarache, Département de Physiologie Végétale et Ecosystèmes, Section d'Ecophysiologie en Conditions Contrôlées, Groupe d'Ecotechnie, Bâtiment 177, 13108 Saint Paul les Durance Cedex, France
Received: 19 July 1993 Revised: 16 August 1993 Accepted: 17 August 1993

Abstract

Microalgae are very efficient solar energy converters and they can produce a great variety of metabolites. Man has always tried to take advantage of these proporties through algal mass culture. Despite the fact that many applications for microalgae have been described in the literature, these micro-organisms are still of minor economic importance. Industrial reactors for algal culture are at present, all designed as open race-ways (shallow open ponds where culture is circulated by a paddle-wheel). Technical and biological limitations of these open systems have given rise to the development of enclosed photoreactors (made of transparent tubes, sleeves or containers and where light source may be natural or artificial). The present review surveys advances in these two technologies for cultivation of microalgae. Starting from published results, the advantages and disadvantages of open systems and closed photobioreactors are discussed. A few open systems are presented for which particularly reliable results are available. Emphasis is then put on closed systems, which have been considered as capital intensive and are justified only when a fine chemical is to be produced.
Key words microalgae - culture systems - race-ways - photobioreactors - mass culture - algal biotechnology

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