Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1186/s13068-024-02479-4
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Carbon and energy balance of biotechnological glycolate production from microalgae in a pre-industrial scale flat panel photobioreactor
Author Wagner, H.; Schad, A.; Höhmann, S.M.; Briol, T.A.; Wilhelm, C.
Source Titel Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts
Year 2024
Department SOMA
Volume 17
Page From art. 42
Language englisch
Topic T7 Bioeconomy
Supplements https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1186%2Fs13068-024-02479-4/MediaObjects/13068_2024_2479_MOESM1_ESM.docx
Keywords Chlamydomonas; Glycolate; Algae biotechnology; Volumetric productivity; Flat panel; Photobioreactor; Carbon sequestration
Abstract Glycolate is produced by microalgae under photorespiratory conditions and has the potential for sustainable organic carbon production in biotechnology. This study explores the glycolate production balance in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, using a custom-built 10-L flat panel bioreactor with sophisticated measurements of process factors such as nutrient supply, gassing, light absorption and mass balances. As a result, detailed information regarding carbon and energy balance is obtained to support techno-economic analyses. It is shown how nitrogen is a crucial element in the biotechnological process and monitoring nitrogen content is vital for optimum performance. Moreover, the suitable reactor design is advantageous to efficiently adjust the gas composition. The oxygen content has to be slightly above 30% to induce photorespiration while maintaining photosynthetic efficiency. The final volume productivity reached 27.7 mg of glycolate per litre per hour, thus, the total process capacity can be calculated to 13 tonnes of glycolate per hectare per annum. The exceptional volume productivity of both biomass and glycolate production is demonstrated, and consequently can achieve a yearly CO2 sequestration rate of 35 tonnes per hectare. Although the system shows such high productivity, there are still opportunities to enhance the achieved volume productivity and thus exploit the biotechnological potential of glycolate production from microalgae.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=28972
Wagner, H., Schad, A., Höhmann, S.M., Briol, T.A., Wilhelm, C. (2024):
Carbon and energy balance of biotechnological glycolate production from microalgae in a pre-industrial scale flat panel photobioreactor
Biotechnol. Biofuels Bioprod. 17 , art. 42 10.1186/s13068-024-02479-4