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Updated: May 19, 2026

Coupling Carbon Capture from a Power Plant with Semi-automated Open Raceway Ponds for Microalgae Cultivation
Published on: August 14, 2020
Continuous microalgae recovery using electrolysis: effect of different electrode pairs and timing of polarity
Jungmin Kim1, Byung-Gon Ryu, Kyochan Kim
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehakno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Microalgae have great potential as a feedstock for biofuel production. Continuous operation is an important benefit of the continuous electrolytic microalgae (CEM) harvest system, but it is necessary to optimize cultivability and recovery efficiency in order to improve overall performance. Two pairs of best-candidate electrodes for polarity exchange (PE) were examined to improve these two key factors: (i) aluminum and dimensionally stable anode (Al-DSA), and (ii) Al-platinum (Al-Pt). Al-DSA was better than Al-Pt because it led to less cell damage and was less expensive. Moreover, cell viability and recovery were improved by optimizing the timing of PE. A P1:P2 ratio of 1:1.5 at 5min and 1:1.2 at 10min yielded the best results, with greatly reduced electricity consumption and enhanced cell viability and recovery. The CEM harvest system appears to be a well-suited option for the harvest of microalgae for biofuel production.
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