Development of a microalgal CO₂-biofixation photobioreactor

There is renewed interest in microalgal biofixation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in photobioreactors hooked up to solar concentrators as a strategy to help reduce the release from electric power plants into the atmosphere of CO₂, a greenhouse gas (GHG). A number of studies on this approach were conducted during the 1990's, which identified its practical challenges. Since then, however, significant advancements have been made particularly on design of solar concentrator, development of light-transmission and distribution devices, as well as in the selection of CO₂-fixing microalgae species. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the growth rates of Chlorella vulgaris and SC2, an unidentified thermophilic cyanobacterial species collected from the Yellowstone National Park, at varying levels of light and at elevated temperature and CO₂ concentration; and (2) to design a bench-top lab-scale photobioreactor for growing cyanobacteria for CO₂ fixation.