Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Due to their distinct advantages over terrestrial plants, microalgae biomass is currently sought after for various applications, ranging from human health, aquaculture, high value chemicals and also as a feedstock for bioenergy production.However, low biomass productivity and inflated production cost have restricted the commercialization of commodity end-products (e.g.biofuel) derived from microalgae.Among the primary factors limiting the growth and productivity of microalgae is the availability and distribution of light (quantity and quality).Identifying these shortcomings, the combination of spectrally selective photovoltaic filters above microalgae cultivation systems for the full exploitation of available sunlight has been previously proposed.Through this system, wavelengths of incoming sunlight most efficient for the growth and productivity of microalgae would be selectively filtered in and transmitted to the algae culture through the photovoltaic filter while all remaining ineffective wavelengths such as infrared (IR), green-yellow and ultraviolet (UV) would be captured and converted into electricity by the photovoltaic apparatus.Thus, in order to evaluate the viability and efficacy of such integrated systems, it is first vital to identify the most efficient light spectra for the targeted microalgae.In this work, the response of two Nannochloropsis spp.(MUR 266& MUR 267) grown and acclimated under various light spectra were evaluated.Two distinct laboratory controlled experimental setups (filtered and non-filtered) were carried out to evaluate the impact of different light spectra on the growth, biomass productivity, biochemical composition and also photosynthetic response of the selected microalgae.
Author: Ashiwin Vadiveloo
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Princeton University
OpenAlex ID: W2609980749