PROGRAMME

The boosting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activity contributes significantly to climate change. According to the Green Deal by 2050, net zero greenhouse gas emissions must be achieved. Therefore, actions are needed in order to control GHG emissions. The research presents and discusses the optimization of the microalgae biomass cultivation phase and the harvesting process in an advanced membrane photobioreactor (mPBR) with the aim to improve its production for green fuel generation. Experimental activities are carried out by considering Chlorella vulgaris microalgae as photosynthetic microorganism. A dark/light cycle of 12/12 hours was implemented by varying the light intensity from 100 to 300 µmol m-2 s-1. Different L/G rate, by keeping the gas flow rate (G) constant at 100 ml/min and increasing the liquid flow rate recirculation (L) from 500 to 1500 L min-1, has been tested to boost up the productivity of microalgae. Results highlight optimal production of microalgae biomass concentration up to 1.45 g L-1. Then a dynamic membrane module was implemented for the harvesting of the biomass. The work contributes to the field of climate change mitigation actions, by providing useful information to improve green energy production from algae biomass.