The European Space Agency (ESA) announced a novel experimental project to cultivate oxygen with microalgae in spacecraft and avoid the need to transport it from Earth. According to a statement, researchers from the Artemiss pilot project will analyze how photosynthesis takes place in space. It is the process by which organisms convert light into energy, […]

On the heels of a successful development of algae photobioreactor (APB) technology and carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration study with Michigan State University, PHYCO2—an algae growth and carbon dioxide sequestration company—will collaborate with MSU under a $1 million U.S. DOE grant to develop technologies that seek to transform the efficiency and operating costs to reduce power […]

A $50,000 grant from Duke Energy will fund a project at Indiana University to construct a structure of clear plastic tubes filled with algae that will convert emissions from the university’s power plant into fertilizer. Indiana University wants to improve its sustainability – and it’s turning to a novel way of recycling to do so. The […]

Researchers from the Cornell-affiliated Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) and Texas A&M University have found an exciting new technology that may revolutionize the search for the perfect algal strain: algal droplet bioreactors on a chip. A single algal cell is captured in a tiny droplet of water encapsulated by oil and millions of algal droplets squeeze onto a chip about […]

IKEA’s external future-living lab — has erected the ‘algae dome’, a four-meter-high pavilion capable of growing what could be ‘the supercrop of the future’. Designed by architects, the food-producing structure houses a photo-bioreactor, a closed system that enables the high productivity of microalgae, microscopic algae that are typically found in freshwater and marine systems. It is imagined that in the future, different […]

Researchers from Washington State University and National University of Colombia have developed a faster way to generate microalgae on a biofilm with potential applications for feed. The aim of the project is to develop mixotrophic algal biofilm reactor incorporating glycerol and urea as sources for carbon and nitrogen, establish biomass and lipid production, estimate fatty acid […]

Microalgae manufacturer ecoduna has agreed to use SCHOTT’s DURAN glass tubes for its new PBR facility in Vienna, where Europe’s largest facility for omega-3 fatty acids will be setup. The company has chosen SCHOTT to deliver the tubes after an 18- month test period in its new vertical PBR plant. The facility will produce 100 […]

Zivo Bioscience has entered into a new cultivation contract with Algatek, Spain, to produce its proprietary algae strain in photobioreactors. The company is planning to supply its algal biomass and extracts to food and feed ingredients market. The company is also working on determining the commercial viability of incorporating a Zivo strain feed ingredient in […]

Scientists at Algae Systems LLC, USA have designed a novel approach to wastewater treatment using algae grown in modular, offshore photobioreactors. The experiment was carried out at the Algae Systems plant in Daphne AL, where the process was used to treat up to 50,000 gal/day of raw waste water. A combination of algal nutrient uptake, […]

Researchers from Spain have performed an experiment to scale up the production volume of marine algal dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum using bubble column photobioreactor. LEDs were used as the light source. Results showed that the final cell concentration in the scaled up photobioreactor was nearly  12 x 105 cells ml-1.  Thus the biomass of the dinoflagellate […]

Scientists from US have designed a new photobioreactor system for optimal algae productivity at large volumes. The photobioreactor system comprises photobioreactor units that may be isolated from each other to reduce culture clashes, an array of diffused acrylic rods attached to the bottom of a removable acrylic circular top to provide more light into the […]

Heliospectra AB has partnered with Scandinavian Microalgae Producer to develop a new LED lighting system based on the LX60 series, to be used in their patented production system in Norway. With this new production technology, the customer has developed a new technology solution producing high-quality products derived from microalgae for food, animal feed, and industrial […]

Scientists from Western Australia have performed an experiment to reduce the energy consumption for producing fuels from algae. The new technique also prevents following harvesting technique which is critical in algae cultivation. The new method follows cultivation of microalgae on a biofilm photobioreactor. Preliminary energetic feasibility analysis have been carried out. Results show that for […]

Matrix Genetics and Proterro have announced a partnership to produce high value nutritional products in Spirulina. Matrix will develop the Spirulina strains and Proterro will grow these strains on their proprietary production system. Proterro’s photobioreactor system uses a technology which converts carbon in waste CO2 into valuable products such as industrial biochemical as well as […]

Researchers from Sweden conducted an experiment to analyse the effect of inhibiting nitrification on algal growth and nutrient uptake in municipal waste water treating photobioreactors. Allylthiourea was used to inhibit nitrification process. The nitrification inhibited reactors were compared to control reactors. Results showed that higher growth of microalgae was seen in inhibited reactors resulting in […]

Scientists from Taiwan performed an experiment to cultivate Chlorella vulgaris FSP-E in vertical tubular type photobioreactors for protein production. Chlorella vulgaris FSP-E was grown in a 50-litre outdoor photobioreactors to produce microalgal proteins. Using optimum conditions, maximum biomass and protein productivity were obtained. The obtained microalgal protein contained 60.3% indispensable amino acids and hence it […]

Researchers from Canada conducted an experiment to design a novel waveguide reactor for enhancing algal biofilm growth. Five different waveguide designs were developed. The light emission from these waveguide designs was characterized and the algal biofilm growth on waveguides was characterized in a parallel plate airlift reactor. The light intensity and carbon dioxide concentration were […]

Scientists from India performed an experiment to optimize the different algae cultivation parameters to increase the CO2 utilization efficiency by the microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus SA1. SA1 strain was cultivated in a cylindrical glass photobioreactor under 15% CO2 concentration at various operational conditions. Results showed that at a light intensity of 4351 lx, a maximum specific […]

The Technical University of Munich, Germany has opened a unique algae cultivation centre at its Ludwig Bölkow Campus to develop new processes for the production of biokerosene and other renewable chemical products. The new Algae Tec facility includes three areas of algae cultivation. It is an energy efficient building which can simulate the growing conditions […]

Scientists from China performed an experiment to study the algal biomass cultivation and lipid production of Chlorella vulgaris using various photobioreactors (bubbling, air-lift, porous air-lift). Results showed that bubbling column photobioreactor could be suitable for the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris than air-lift photobioreactor as the highest biomass concentration was obtained using bubbling column PBR. Source

Scientists from China performed an experiment to compare flat photo-bioreactors for algae cultivation based on computational flow dynamics numerical simulation. Three flat photo-bioreactors were taken for the experiment, viz., ordinary double flat photo-bioreactor, multistage flat photobioreactor and multistage intake photobioreactor. Computational flow dynamics simulations were carried out. Results showed that multistage intake photobioreactor gave the […]

Researchers from China and Europe have performed an experiment to analyze the effect of initial biomass specific (IBS) light availability on the production rate of batch microalgal triglycerides from Nannochloropsis sp. cultivated in vertical and horizontal outdoor tubular reactors. The results showed that increasing IBS light availability resulted in higher production rate of IBS-TAG as well as […]

Researchers from Malaysia conducted an experiment to produce biodiesel and bioethanol from Scenedesmus bijugatus cultivated in vertical tubular photobioreactor.  The alga was cultivated in the photobioreactor in a semi-continuous mode and harvested by a combined process involving coagulation and flocculation. Maximum biodiesel yield was obtained using acid base catalytic process. Further, the lipid extracted residual […]

Researchers from Italy have conducted an experiment to improve the overall photoconversion efficiency of microalgae production in photobioreactors.  Two strategies were followed in the experiment – in the first, luminescent spectral converter filters were used which increases the portion of the spectrum available for photosynthesis. In the second, photobioreactors were integrated with photovoltaic panels. Results […]

Researchers from Brazil performed an experiment to improve the use of photobioreactors, for continuous growth, by developing minimally invasive mass flow rate sensor that can be used as an alternative to ultrasonic sensors. A mathematical model was developed that allows for the determination of system temperature distribution. The mathematical model was implemented in the Fortran […]