Abstract
Waveguides can be used to deliver light deep into algal photobioreactors, allowing the growth of algal biofilms with high areal yield. A current drawback of these reactors is their dependency upon artificial illumination. A more practical approach would be to use direct sunlight to illuminate the waveguide photobioreactor. In this paper a novel optical system is designed to grow algal biofilm using waveguides illuminated with external light using 3D-printed paraboloidal mirrors. It was found that the polygonal approximation of a compound parabolic trough was an effective mechanism for focusing external natural light, which could be constructed easily. It is also demonstrated that algae biofilm biomass productivity on the waveguide increases by a factor of 2.5 when operated in conjunction with mirrored troughs.
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