Reaction engineering analysis of Nannochloropsis sp. for the production of lipids with diverse photobioreactors

Christina Pfaffinger, doctoral thesis Technische Universität München, 2017

Growth and lipid formation kinetics were determined for selected microalgae as a function of irradiance and temperature in the photobioreactor. Using these kinetic models, the scale-up from laboratory to pilot scale was successfully demonstrated by implementing a novel scale-up criterion for different photobioreactors. With regard to the day and night climate variation a simulation of growth and product formation was not possible in this particular case if the stationary kinetics were applied.

Publications

  • Pfaffinger CE, Severin TS, Apel AC, Göbel J, Sauter J, Weuster-Botz D (2019): Light-dependent growth kinetics enable scale-up of well-mixed phototrophic bioprocesses in different types of photobioreactors. J Biotechnol 297: 41-48.
  • Apel AC, Pfaffinger CE, Basedahl N, Mittwollen N, Göbel J, Sauter J, Brück T, Weuster-Botz D (2017): Open thin-layer cascade reactors for saline microalgae production evaluated in a physically simulated Mediterranean summer climate. Algal Research 25 (2017): 381–390.
  • Pfaffinger CE, Schöne D, Trunz S, Löwe H, Weuster-Botz D (2016): Model-based optimization of microalgae areal productivity in flat-plate gas-lift photobioreactors. Algal Res 20: 153–163.