Design Considerations for a Membrane-Integrated Photobioreactor

The basic feature of a membrane-integrated photobioreactor for CO2 utilization by microalgae culture consists of CO2 supply set, a membrane set, and photobioreactor system. The CO2 supply set consists of an air compressor, gas mixer, gas filter (optional), and a CO2 tank. The membrane set consists of a peristaltic pump and one or more mem­brane contactor modules. The photobioreactor system consists of an illumination source and a closed culture vessel (bioreactor) to culture microalgae. This system can be arranged as shown in Fig. 14.4. The CO2 cycle also is shown in Fig. 14.4. The mem­brane module can be rearranged inside the culture vessel (Fan et al. 2007), and the harvesting system can be integrated with the membrane photobioreactor system.

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Microalgae <10% CO2

Fig. 14.4 Schematic process and CO2 cycle in a membrane photobioreactor