“We tried many different methods and failed, and then this system started to work and replicated it and brought out this new reactor,” he said. However, it took several tries before the project came together. Interest in growing algae on a biofilm started with a student’s project several years ago, said Beyenal. vulgaris to grow effectively.” Why alter biofilm reactor production? “The recycled membrane biofilm reactor we developed allowed the recirculation of dissolved gases and medium through the biofilm and allowed C. “In this work, Chlorella vulgaris biofilms were effectively grown under mixotrophic conditions in a newly developed biofilm reactor,” the researchers said. vulgaris) using low light and less water, and offering a high oil yield, the researchers said in the study.

The bioreactor is able to produce amounts of the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris (C. “It looked like it would take a month or two months to grow what we wanted and then we grew it faster and we have a technology – from a fundamental question to an application, this is where we are.” “Initially we had no commercial interest, we wanted to understand how it worked,” he told FeedNavigator. The new bioreactor can grow algae in about four days, and because the algae is grown on a membrane it should be easier to collect than it would be in other systems, he said. The goals of the project included developing the mixotrophic algal biofilm reactor incorporating glycerol and urea for sources of carbon and nitrogen establish the biomass and lipid production estimate fatty acid profiles and to quantify dissolved oxygen and pH depth profiles in different conditions, they said.Īnother goal was to see if there would be faster ways to grow microalgae, said Haluk Beyenal, corresponding author and professor in the Gene and Lina Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Washington State University. The group published their results in the journal of Algal Research.

The team included researchers from Washington State University and the National University of Colombia.

Best fuel for bioreactor