HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHOTOBIOREACTOR FOR MICROALGAL BIOFUEL ASSAY
Abstract
Microalgae are emerging as a source of future biofuel due to high oil productivity and low environmental impact. Optimizing microalgal growth and oil production by the study of growth conditions will address the high production cost of microalgal biofuel. A testing solution is needed for high-throughput studies. Here we present a photobioreactor (PBR) capable of providing control of multiple culture conditions to investigate their effect on microalgal growth. A light source was designed to implement light intensity, cycle, and wavelength control, and a feedback control system was designed to control temperature. Both subsystems are managed by a microcontroller. Microalgal cells were isolated and analyzed with an integrated droplet microfluidics platform at single cell resolution. The PBR has been successfully used to characterize Chlamydomonas reinhardtii species by various testing growth conditions in parallel.
Subject
MicrofluidicsMicroalgal growth
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
culture conditions
light control
temperature control
electrical engineering
Citation
Richards, Evan S; Shammai, Alexander C; Warsi, Nida A (2016). HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHOTOBIOREACTOR FOR MICROALGAL BIOFUEL ASSAY. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /167916.