Carbon dioxide removal using Dunaliella salina cultivated in a hollow fiber membrane photobioreactor

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the responsible gases for the increase of the greenhouse effects. CO2 concentration has been drastically increased in the last decades mainly due to the increase of anthropogenic emissions. Biological fixation of CO2 using microalgae is currently considered as a remarkable and promising technology. In this paper, a photobioreactor integrated with hydrophobic microporous polyethylene hollow fiber membrane was constructed to remove CO2 from air using a photosynthetic microalgae Dunaliella Salina. The main objective of this work was to maximize the biomass productivity (Pbiomass) at different aeration flow rates and circulation rates of culture fluid including 0.1 and 0.2 vvm and 500 and 1000 ml/h, respectively. Obtained results showed that the maximum Pbiomass (0.59 g/L/day) was obtained at minimum aeration flow rate (0.1 vvm) and at maximum circulation rate of culture fluid (1000 ml/h). In comparison with conventional bubble column, results were promising.

Keywords:

CO2 fixation , Hollow fiber membrane , Photobioreactor , Microalgae