Investigation of Hydrodynamic Parameters in an Airlift Photobioreactor on CO 2 Biofixation by Spirulina sp

Zahra Zarei, Peyman Malekshahi, Antoine P. Trzcinski and Mohammad Hossein Morowvat
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Zahra Zarei: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sistan & Baluchestan, Zahedan P.O. Box 98167-45845, Iran
Peyman Malekshahi: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sistan & Baluchestan, Zahedan P.O. Box 98167-45845, Iran
Antoine P. Trzcinski: School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Southern Queensland, West Street, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Mohammad Hossein Morowvat: Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz P.O. Box 71468-64685, Iran

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: The rise of CO 2 concentration on Earth is a major environmental problem that causes global warming. To solve this issue, carbon capture and sequestration technologies are becoming more and more popular. Among them, cyanobacteria can efficiently sequestrate CO 2 , which is an eco-friendly and cost-effective way of reducing carbon dioxide, and algal biomass can be harvested as valuable products. In this study, the hydrodynamic parameters of an airlift photobioreactor such as gas holdup, mean bubble diameter and liquid circulation velocity were measured to investigate CO 2 biofixation by Spirulina sp. The total gas holdup was found to increase linearly with the increase in the gas velocity from 0.185 to 1.936 cm/s. The mean bubble velocities in distilled water only and in the cyanobacterial culture on the first and sixth days of cultivation were 109.97, 87.98, and 65.89 cm/s, respectively. It was found that shear stress at gas velocities greater than 0.857 cm/s led to cyanobacterial death. After 7 days of batch culture, the maximum dry cell weight reached 1.62 g/L at the gas velocity of 0.524 cm/s, whereas the highest carbon dioxide removal efficiency by Spirulina sp. was 55.48% at a gas velocity of 0.185 cm/s, demonstrating that hydrodynamic parameters applied in this study were suitable to grow Spirulina sp. in the airlift photobioreactor and remove CO 2 .

Keywords: airlift photobioreactor; carbon sequestration; CO 2 biofixation; gas holdup; liquid circulation velocity; Spirulina sp. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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