Slab waveguide photobioreactors for microalgae based biofuel production.

Microalgae are a promising feedstock for sustainable biofuel production. At present, however, there are a number of challenges that limit the economic viability of the process. Two of the major challenges are the non-uniform distribution of light in photobioreactors and the inefficiencies associated with traditional biomass processing.

Continuous operation of a hybrid solid-liquid state reconfigurable photonic system without resupply of liquids.

Optofluidics offers a number of potentially transformative advantages for photonic systems. At present however there are a number of technological roadblocks that prevent the practical integration of liquid-state elements into traditional high-speed solid-state photonic systems. Two of the most important of these are the need for continuous resupply of liquids and the difficulty in shuttling light between the liquid- and solid-states.