Autor(es):
Carvalho, Ana P. 
; Meireles, Luís A. ; Malcata, F. Xavier
Data: 2006
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/6717
Origem: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Descrição
One major challenge to industrial microalgal culturing is to devise and develop technical apparata,
cultivation procedures and algal strains susceptible of undergoing substantial increases in
efficiency of use of solar energy and carbon dioxide. Despite several research efforts developed
to date, there is no such thing as “the best reactor system”- defined, in an absolute fashion, as
the one able to achieve maximum productivity with minimum operation costs, irrespective of
the biological and chemical system at stake. In fact, choice of the most suitable system is situationdependent,
as both the species of alga available and the final purpose intended will play a role.
The need of accurate control impairs use of open-system configurations, so current investigation
has focused mostly on closed systems. In this review, several types of closed bioreactors described
in the technical literature as able to support production of microalgae are comprehensively
presented and duly discussed, using transport phenomenon and process engineering methodological
approaches. The text is subdivided into subsections on: reactor design, which includes tubular
reactors, flat plate reactors and fermenter-type reactors; and processing parameters, which include
gaseous transfer, medium mixing and light requirements.
