Dynamic model of a thin layer photobioreactor, used for the cultivation of the microalga Chlorella sp. and bacteria in wastewater of high organic load

Abstract

A dynamic mathematical model is presented to describe the symbiotic growth of the microalgae Chlorella sp. and bacteria in a photobioreactor thin film used in the wastewater treatment of high organic load. A good correlation is shown by the experimental results, since the variations of the process parameters (pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide and substrate concentration in the culture medium) were compared with the experimental results and in 95 % of cases coincide with an error of + -3%. Furthermore, the influence of the operating parameters on the performance of algae obtained is evaluated, using the model, the total net productivity per unit area was obtained with a maximum error of + -2, 5 % with respect to the experimental values.