Intrinsic autotrophic biomass yield and productivity in algae: modeling spectral and mixing-rate dependence

For non-inhibitory irradiances, the rate of algal biomass synthesis was modeled as the product of the algal autotrophic yield Φ(DW) and the flux of photons absorbed by the culture, as described using Beer-Lambert law. As a contrast to earlier attempts, the use of scatter-corrected extinction coefficients enabled the validation of such approach, which bypasses determination of photosynthesis-irradiance (PI) kinetic parameters. The broad misconception that PI curves, or the equivalent use of specific growth rate expressions independent of the biomass concentration, can be extended to adequately model biomass production under light-limitation is addressed. For inhibitory irradiances, a proposed mechanistic model, based on the photosynthetic units (PSU) concept, allows one to estimate a target speed νT across the photic zone in order to limit the flux of photons per cell to levels averting significant reductions in Φ(DW) . These modeled target speeds, on the order of 5-20 m s(-1) for high outdoor irradiances, call for fundamental changes in reactor design to optimize biomass productivity. The presented analysis enables a straightforward bioreactor parameterization, which, in-turn, guides the establishment of conditions ensuring maximum productivity and complete nutrients consumption. Additionally, solar and fluorescent lighting spectra were used to calculate energy to photon-counts conversion factors.