Abstract
Laboratory experiments were performed to study the capacity of CO 2 sequestration and carbon fixation into biomass during the cultivation of the cyanobacteria Aphanothece microscopica Nägeli in refinery wastewater. The influence of the photoperiod (day/night) on the rates of CO 2 sequestration and O 2 release was also determined. Rates of CO 2 sequestration were measured both in the liquid and gaseous phases. The results showed that the capacity of CO 2 sequestration and O 2 release during the day/night experiment was about one-fourth less than that achieved in the continuously illuminated experiment. Equivalence was found between rates of CO 2 sequestration measured in the two phases. Despite large amounts of CO 2 that were sequestered during the cultivation, it is demonstrated that only a small fraction (about 3%) was effectively fixed as microalgae biomass, indicating the existence of other routes of CO 2 conversion in the photobioreactor.
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