Diseño y construcción de un prototipo de fotobiorreactor discontinuo a escala laboratorio para la producción de biomasa algal.

Abstract

The objective of the present work was to design and construct a discontinuous photobioreactor prototype to laboratory-scale for the production of algal biomass A tubular photobioreactor design of 15 liters capacity was chosen, distributed in 6 cylinders of acrylic, for its advantages of construction and operability, the first three contained strains of Chorella vulgaris and the remaining three of Scenedesmus sp. Metal, glass, acrylic and wood materials were used to construct the equipment; A light source based on 6 LED lamps was used, with an average intensity of 841.91 lx, measured inside the equipment cylinders. The time of exposure to the light was controlled with a timer, programmed in photoperiods of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness; Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was supplied to the culture medium through an air pump, at a flow rate of 0.0378 cm3 CO2/s; a daily pH control was performed, adjusting it to a range of 7.5 to 8.5; The temperature inside the cylinders was recorded, as well as the absorbance values, measured at 750 nm for 3 weeks of culture, to evaluate die growth of the microalgae. The biomass obtained was sedimented in 20 L containers without the use of flocculants, the supernatant was removed, the wet biomass was centrifuged for 6 minutes at 840 rpm, the supernatant was discarded again. As a result, the samples were lyophilized to obtain dry biomass: 6.59 g of C. Vulgaris and 9.74 g of Scenedesmus sp., The 2 samples were stored in refrigeration, concluding that there is greater production of C. Vulgaris compared to Scenedesmus sp. It is recommended that teachers in the area use the prototype in laboratory practices with students to strengthen their professional training.