Capture CO₂ from flue gases during the cultivation of cyanobacteria/microalgae Arthrospira platensis

¹ Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
² Joint Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia

Abstract

Experimental studies and assessment of the state of cyanobacteria/microalgae Arthrospira platensis in a sustainable consortium with heterotrophic bacteria were carried out grown by bubbling culture medium with microalgae by a mixture of flue gases and air. The investigations were carried out in an experimental sample of a gas chamber with photobioreactors, which was supplemented by a designed flue gas generation system. The CO₂ content in the gas mixture was 3, 6, and 8%. The resulting growth rate of microalgae biomass density was 0.21 g/l per day at CO₂ concentrations of 3 and 6%, 0.27 g/l per day at 8%. The present growth rate was 1.75 – 2.25 times higher than the growth rate in experiments conducted when growing this microalga in mixtures of air and CO₂. An increase in the amount of carbohydrates in biomass to 29.4% and the lipid content at the level of 21 – 23% was recorded, which makes biomass attractive for biofuel production.