Biofixation of carbon dioxide using mixed culture of microalgae

Abstract

The objective of present study was to cultivate the mixed culture of microalgae in airlift photobioreactor in batch mode and to find out the effect of various parameters on CO2 biofixation rate of microalgae. Microalgae collected from local pond were cultivated in airlift photobioreactor having working volume of 5 L for 12 d. The initial inoculum concentration and pH were 0.3 g/L and 8.4, respectively. In order to study the effect of CO2 concentration and combined air-CO2 flow rate on microalgae growth, CO2 concentration and combined air-CO2 flow rates were varied in the range of 0 to 15% and 0.2 to 2.0 L/min, respectively. The maximum biomass concentration and CO2 bio-fixation rate were found to be 2.34 g/L and 373.3 mg/L, respectively, at 15% CO2 concentration and combined air-CO2 flow rate of 1.2 L/min.