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Journal article
Coupling semi-transparent PV PANELS with thin-film PBRs for sustainable microalgal biomass production
Chemical engineering research & design, Vol.205, pp.722-732
2024
Abstract
The development of sustainable microalgal cultivation systems for large scale biomass production is a challenge. Working with closed thin film culture systems (< 0.01 m) is of interest as it allows decreasing the culture volume for a given biomass production resulting in significant reduction in use of water and energy for mixing and pumping. However, as a direct consequence, it results in a lower thermal inertia, raising difficulties in the temperature regulation, which is also known as one of the most energy consuming part of microalgae culture process. The use of passive solution is a promising mean to reduce this cost. As microalgae only need a small portion of the solar spectrum (the Photosynthetic Active Range: PAR), the unnecessary wavelengths can be removed to limit overheating of the culture. As a further solution, it can be proposed hybrid processes combining photobioreactors (PBRs) associated to semi-transparent solar panels (PVs) that are able to convert some specific wavelengths into electricity, while letting PAR wavelengths pass through for microalgae photosynthetic growth. This would allow a more optimal use of the solar spectrum. Here, the potential use of such a solution was investigated in a thin film closed PBR (AlgoFilm© PBR) through simulation. A dynamic model able to compute the hourly evolution of various parameters (i.e. energy needs for culture thermal regulation, biomass and electricity production) as a function of outdoor conditions was developed. The simulation was used to investigate various configurations of light filtering for a whole year of operation. The use of light filters helped to prevent overheating during the day, however, temperatures at nighttime were lower which is a possible significant drawback. One potential way to overcome the low temperature at night, is storing the excess of heat produced during the day (using, for example, phase changing materials) to redistribute it at night.
Details
- Title
- Coupling semi-transparent PV PANELS with thin-film PBRs for sustainable microalgal biomass production
- Authors/Creators
- J. Louveau - Université de Nantes, Oniris, CNRS, GEPEA, UMR 6144, F-44600 Saint-Nazaire, FranceM. Titica - Nantes UniversitéN. R Moheimani - Murdoch University, Centre for Water, Energy and WasteJ. Pruvost - Université de Nantes, Oniris, CNRS, GEPEA, UMR 6144, F-44600 Saint-Nazaire, France
- Publication Details
- Chemical engineering research & design, Vol.205, pp.722-732
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers.
- Identifiers
- 991005659467907891
- Copyright
- © 2024 The Authors
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Water, Energy and Waste
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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