Predictive model of algal biofuel production based on experimental data

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2020

Department

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Abstract

Algal biofuels are of growing interest in the quest to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere but the sensitivity of the fuel production to various factors is not well understood. Therefore, the effects of temperature, light intensity, carbon concentration, aeration rate, pH, and time on the CO2 biofixation rate of Chlorella vulgaris (ISC-23) were investigated using experimental, and Genetic Programming (GP) modeling techniques. The impacts of applying the cement industrial flue gas as a source of carbon, useful for the growth of microalgae, were also studied. Chlorella vulgaris (ISC-23) was cultivated in a laboratory photobioreactor on a BG-11 medium. The developed GP model was used to optimize the CO2 biofixation based on the studied variables and produce a predictive equation. By using statistical measurements and error analysis, the predictive equation was shown to agree with the experimentally obtained values. It was found that the optimum conditions occur at 26o C, and 3200 lx of light, in the existence of CO2. Applying 6% CO2 as the input with the aeration rate of 0.5 vvm in 11 days was also reported as the optimum scenario for algae production with keeping the pH close to 7.5. The results indicate that the predictions determined with the proposed equation can be of practical worth for researchers and experts in the biofuel industry.

Publication Title

Algal Research

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS