Study of Chlorella vulgaris sedimentation process

Abstract

The paper reports the results of Chlorella vulgaris sedimentation process including description of cultivation condition of microalgal biomass. The process of algae cultivation was carried out in photobioreactor comprising systems of carbon dioxide supply, mixing and artificial LED illumination. The growth of microalgae was determined alternatively in three ways by measuring the amount of dry mass over time, counting the cells and measurement of optical density by use of a spectrophotometer. Algae biomass with different concentration was subjected to the separation process by gravity. This led to the determination of the characteristic of sedimentation process for different concentrations and cell sizes. The experimental results indicate that sedimentation process offers a tool with a potential application for microalgae harvesting.