Process development for hydrogen production with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii based on growth and product formation kinetics.

Certain strains of microalgae are long known to produce hydrogen under anaerobic conditions. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii the oxygen-sensitive hydrogenase enzyme recombines electrons from the chloroplast electron transport chain with protons to form molecular hydrogen directly inside the chloroplast. A sustained hydrogen production can be obtained under low sulfur conditions in C.

Modeling microalgae cultivation productivities in different geographic locations - estimation method for idealized photobioreactors.

Microalgae can be used to produce versatile high-value fuels, such as methane, biodiesel, ethanol, or hydrogen gas. One of the most important factors that influence the economics of microalgae cultivation is the primary production of biomass per unit area. This is determined by productivity rates during cultivation, which are influenced by the local climate conditions (solar irradiation, temperature).

Closed photo-bioreactors as tools for biofuel production.

Production of biofuels from microalgae is a promising sustainable option for the future. Unfortunately, until now production of algae biomass is too expensive owing to costly plant designs or high demand of auxiliary energy. These problems are addressed in recent developments.

Photosynthetic biomass and H2 production by green algae: from bioengineering to bioreactor scale-up.

The development of clean borderless fuels is of vital importance to human and environmental health and global prosperity. Currently, fuels make up approximately 67% of the global energy market (total market = 15 TW year(-1)) (Hoffert et al. 1998).

Modelling of growth and product formation of Porphyridium purpureum.

In this contribution experimental data and simulations of growth and product formation of the unicellular microalgae Porphyridium purpureum are presented. A mathematical model has been developed for a better understanding of growth and product formation in production plants. The model has been refined with the results of several cultivations in a new photobioreactor designed especially for the study of microalgal kinetics under highly defined illumination conditions.