Influence of a light source on microalgae growth and subsequent anaerobic digestion of harvested biomass

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the light source on the taxonomic structure and chemical composition of the harvested biomass, and on the fermentative biogas/methane production. Cultivation of a mixed microalgae culture was carried out in closed vertical photobioreactors equipped with different light sources. The effectiveness of anaerobic digestion was analysed by respirometric measurements. The harvested microalgae biomass was characterized by various taxonomic structures and varied chemical composition depending on the light source used during cultivation stage. In variants where warm white LED lighting and red light were used, species from the Cyanoprokaryota division predominated, characterized by a high concentration of organic compounds and nitrogen in the biomass. TOC values amounted to almost 430 mg/g TS. In the remaining variants, Chlorophyta predominated, and TOC values were in the range of 388.0–411.3 mg/g TS. A significantly higher biogas/methane production (p = 0.05) was found in variants in which biomass with Cyanoprokaryota predominating was tested. The biogas yield was in the range of 383.2 L/kg VS to 400.8 L/kg VS, and the methane content was close to 55%. A lower effectiveness of biogas and methane formation were observed in variants with Chlorophyta as a predominating taxonomic group.