ETD

Archivio digitale delle tesi discusse presso l'Università di Pisa

Tesi etd-06192013-150842


Tipo di tesi
Tesi di laurea magistrale
Autore
GRESTA, FRANCESCO
Indirizzo email
francesco.gresta@gmail.com
URN
etd-06192013-150842
Titolo
Biomass production by Nannochloropsis gaditana CCMP 527 in outdoor: effects of photobioreactors type, dilution rate and solar irradiance
Dipartimento
SCIENZE AGRARIE, ALIMENTARI E AGRO-AMBIENTALI
Corso di studi
BIOTECNOLOGIE VEGETALI E MICROBICHE
Relatori
relatore Dott.ssa Guidi, Lucia
Parole chiave
  • lipid
  • biomass production
  • photobioreactor
  • marine microalgae
Data inizio appello
08/07/2013
Consultabilità
Completa
Riassunto
In the industrial and development society, worldwide petroleum consumption has steady increased resulting in higher standards of living and development transportation and trucking. This will affect the stability of ecosystems and global climate as well as global petroleum reserves. Government programs for reduced reliance on fossil fuel, has involved specific research plan for fuel from renewable resources, like biodiesel. The production of biodiesel consists on a transesterification of saponificable fatty acids with a short chain alcohol, to form acid alkyl (i.e. the biodiesel) and glycerol. The microalgae are considered the only alternative to current biodiesel crops, for a series of advantages like not require arable land and the use of herbicide and pesticide for their growth, and their cultivation can occur in brackish water, reducing the consume of freshwater. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of dilution rate and some technical features, in three type of biophotoreactors (tubular, raceways and vertical flat panels) on biomass volumetric productivity (g L-1d-1). Also biochemical analysis of the biomass (lipid, fatty acids and proteins) were evaluated when the steady state of biomass production was reached. The study showed the optimal dilution rate was at 0.28 g L-1d-1 in every photobioreactors and tubular shown the higher biomass volumetric productivity than the other photobioreactors. No significant correlation between the air quantity and sump at fix dilution rate were found, while in flat panels significant correlations between the distances from black panels were found. The biochemical data shown a higher content in lipids in tubulars than the other photobioreactors, with a prevalence of saturated and monounsatured fatty acids than the polyunsatured fatty acids in almost all photobioreactors. In conclusion, this study shown a superior performance of tubulars photobioreactors in biomass productivity and fatty acids contents for biodiesel. However, the costs of this system are very high and prohibitive to compete with other biodiesel sources like also petroleum derived diesel.
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