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Reactor technology
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The outdoor cultivation of microalgae was revolutionized with the development of a new technology for a photobioreactor, a so called convection reactor
(European patent No. 09154581.4). The convection reactor first allows the use of even maximum intensities of light radiation which is prerequisite for
a production of microalgae at high rates.
The advantages resulting can be summarized as follows:
- high cell densities of up to 20 g dry weight/L
- high biomass production of up to 100 g dry weight/m2/d
- optimized use of the light radiation of intensities of even > 2000
µmol/m2/sec (brightest sunlight)
- low energy input to run the convection reactor
The fields of application for the convection reactor are
- production of energy rich biomass
- production of biochemicals
- CO2 mitigation
(data sheet).
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Cultivation technique
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At the pilot plant at Hamburg Reitbrook a process engineering was developed and tested which allowed
to cultivate microalgae in the northern hemispherse also during winter.
The technological innovations are:
- Use of the industrial waste heat produced by a power plant
- Efficient capture of the light radiation by a solar tracking system
- Automation and drives for the process control and workflow management
The advances in the cultivation technique allow
- Production of microalgae during 10 months a year
- Production in Northern Europe and highlands
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Energetic exploitation |
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Within the frame of the TERM project Dr. J. Heerenklage und Dr. I. Körner of the Technical University at Hamburg Harburg (Working group: Bioconversion and mitigation of emissions)
developed methods which allowed to convert microalgae into biogas with efficiencies of up to 85%.
With a production of up to 850 L of biogas/kg of microalgae these are now even superior to
sweet corn silage to feed biogas plants.
The efficiency obtained by the new process engineering is a precondition to use microalgae for energy production.
Viable applications are:
- a direct coupling of microalgae plants to a combined heat and power station
- Methane as a fuel easy to transport and store
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