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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Microalgae Cultivation and Biomass Quantification in a Bench-Scale Photobioreactor with Corrosive Flue Gases
Published on: December 19, 2019
A practical approach for modelling the growth of microalgae with population balance equation
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Process and Systems Engineering Research Center (PROSYS), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
Abstract:
Microalgae are versatile microorganisms with applications in food, energy and fine chemicals, among others. Modelling the dynamics of microalgae inside a photobioreactor is a convenient and inexpensive way to determine the concentration of cells over time. Numerous models have been developed in the literature, but only a few are able to give relevant biological information. Such information can then be used to further improve the production process. The objective of this work was to develop a model for the determination of microalgal dynamics inside a photobioreactor as a function of the environmental conditions, to retrieve the size-specific growth and division rates as well as the number of daughter cells. The results demonstrate how to evaluate the time needed for microalgae to complete a full life-cycle. Inexpensive laboratory-based procedures and mathematical modelling are combined for the determination of relevant biological parameters.
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