1.

PHOTO BIOREACTOR
a. Introduction
- a bioreactor which incorporates some type of light source to cultivate
phototrophic microorganisms
- these organisms use photosynthesis to generate biomass from light and carbon
dioxide and include plants, mosses, macroalgae, microalgae, cyanobacteria
and purple bacteria.
- Within the artificial environment of a photobioreactor, specific conditions are
carefully controlled for respective species.
- a photobioreactor allows much higher growth rates and purity levels than
anywhere in natural or habitats similar to nature. Hypothetically, phototropic
biomass could be derived from nutrient-rich wastewater and flue gas carbon
dioxide in a photobioreactor.
- The photobioreactor is designed to provide optimal illumination, mixing, CO2
mass transfer, and nutrients to the phototrophic liquid suspension.
- can be operated in "batch mode" but it is also possible to introduce a
continuous stream of sterilized water containing nutrients, air, and carbon
dioxide.

Figure 1 : Working of PhotoBioreactor

b. Mode of Operation
- From the feeding vessel, the flow progresses to the diaphragm pump which
moderates the flow of the algae into the actual tube. Built into the pump is the
CO2 inlet valve.
- The photobioreactor itself is used to promote biological growth by controlling
environmental parameters including light.
- The tubes are made of acrylic and are designed to have light and dark intervals
to enhance the growth rate.
 - The photo bioreactor has a built-in cleaning system that internally cleans the
tubes without stopping the production.
- After the algae have completed the flow through the photo bioreactor, it passes
back to the feeding vessel. As it progresses through the hoses, the oxygen
sensors determine how much oxygen has built up in the plant and this oxygen
is released in the feeding vessel itself. It is also at this stage that the optical
Cell Density sensor determines the harvesting rate.
- When the algae are ready for harvesting, they pass through the connected
filtering system. This filter collects the algae that are ready for processing,
while the remaining algae passes back to the feeding vessel.
- The flow continues.

c. Applications
- Algae photobioreactor
- Tubular photobioreactor
- Christmas tree photobioreactor
- Plate photobioreactor
- Horizontal photobioreactor
- Foil photobioreactor

d. i) Advantages
- Cultivation of algae is in controlled circumstances, hence potential for much
higher productivity
- Large surface-to-volume ratio. PBRs offer maximum efficiency in using light
and therefore greatly improve productivity. Typically the culture density of
algae produced is 10 to 20 times greater than bag culture in which algaeculture
is done in bags - and can be even greater.
- Better control of gas transfer.
- Reduction in evaporation of growth medium.
- More uniform temperature.
- Better protection from outside contamination.
- Space saving - Can be mounted vertically, horizontally or at an angle, indoors
or outdoors.
 - Reduced Fouling - Recently available tube self cleaning mechanisms can
dramatically reduce fouling.
ii) Disadvantages
- Capital cost is very high. This is one of the most important bottlenecks that is
hindering the progress of algae fuel industry.
- Despite higher biomass concentration and better control of culture parameters,
data accumulated in the last two decades have shown that the productivity and
production cost in some enclosed photo bioreactor systems are not much better
than those achievable in open-pond cultures.
- The technical difficulty in sterilizing these photobioreactors has hindered their
application for algae culture for specific end-products such as high value
pharmaceutical products.
e. Economics/ Prices/ Operational Cost
- Photobioreactors represent perhaps the highest cost item in algae cultivation.
Photobioreactors are expensive owing to their sophistication. Currently
Photobioreactor costs range between $70-150/ m2, though there some up and
coming companies that claim to provide these at much lower capital costs.
- The photobioreactor industry is evolving fast and prices and costs change
significantly with time.
- Photobioreactor Cost for a 1 Ton/day Dry Algae System
f. Safety/Environmental Issue
- there is no contamination of atmosphere with hazardous pollutants during
photosynthetic aeration.
- Only sunlight energy will be utilized
- No exposure to microbiological contaminations
2. MEMBRANE REACTOR
a. Economics/ Prices / Operational Cost
- For very large flows of water of well understood characteristics – and ease of
biotreatment and processing overall – the primary driver is cost – both
CAPEX and OPEX.
- Provided whole-life MBR costs are considered, then the net present value
(NPV) in units of USD/m3 treated water provides a reasonable indication of
overall cost, NPV being a function of CAPEX, OPEX and the plant life and
residual end-of-life value.
 - The two key components of OPEX (ignoring labour) are the energy demand
and membrane replacement. Chemicals costs are normally relatively small.
- Energy demand primarily relates to aeration and sludge transfers, with
permeate production also demanding energy to differing extents depending on
the configuration of the MBR process.
b. Safety/ Environmental Issues

3. ROTARY REACTOR
a. Rotary reactors are the reactors facilitating the chemical reaction between the gas
and solid phases usually at high temperatures. These reactors are widely used in
various chemical process industries (food, pharmaceuticals) and metallurgical
industries.