Simulated flue gas fixation for large-scale biomass production of Chlorella vulgaris Buitenzorg

Cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris Buitenzorg. in a pilot scale of bubble column photo bioreactor with photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) alteration in this research successfully enhanced the biomass production 2.5 times compared with constant light illumination at 77.4 μmol/(m ^2.s) 5 klx. The enhanced growth of this microalga occurred during a shorter cultivation period that was around 60-65 of the growth period. Cultivation using simulated flue gas for both alteration mode and constant illumination also showed a similar pattern as above; alteration mode is more efficient than the constant photon flux density at 77.4 μmol/(m ^2.s), although not as high when compared to previous results, it can increase approximately 60 in biomass production yield. The existence of simulated un-burned hydrocarbon on blown air has a significant effect on biomass production, approximately 100 increase compared to CO2 content blown air. As a note, all cultivations used specific operation conditions such as: T 302 K, P 101 KPa, superficial gas velocity (U^G) 15.7 m/h, CO₂ content in blown air (yCO2,i ) 10 or simulated blown flue gas that was enriched by LPG hydrocarbon around 0.5 and 1; Beneck medium; 20 dm³ volume of bubble column photo bioreactor; and photon flux density source by Phillip Halogen Lamp 20 W / 12 V / 50 Hz.