Premium
A fully predictive model for one‐dimensional light attenuation by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in a torus photobioreactor
Author(s) -
Pottier L.,
Pruvost J.,
Deremetz J.,
Cornet J.F.,
Legrand J.,
Dussap C.G.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.20475
Subject(s) - photobioreactor , attenuation , chlamydomonas reinhardtii , irradiance , radiative transfer , optics , biological system , physics , mie scattering , radiant flux , flux (metallurgy) , environmental science , light scattering , materials science , chemistry , scattering , biology , ecology , biofuel , biochemistry , gene , mutant , metallurgy
The light attenuation in a photobioreactor is determined using a fully predictive model. The optical properties were first calculated, using a data bank of the literature, from only the knowledge of pigments content, shape, and size distributions of cultivated cells which are a function of the physiology of the current species. The radiative properties of the biological turbid medium were then deduced using the exact Lorenz‐Mie theory. This method is experimentally validated using a large‐size integrating sphere photometer. The radiative properties are then used in a rectangular, one‐dimensional two‐flux model to predict radiant light attenuation in a photobioreactor, considering a quasi‐collimated field of irradiance. Combination of this radiative model with the predictive determination of optical properties is finally validated by in situ measurement of attenuation profiles in a torus photobioreactor cultivating the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, after a complete and proper characterization of the incident light flux provided by the experimental set‐up. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.