Optoelectronic technologies to boost photobioreactors for algae production: from pulsed light sources to PV integrated net zero system

Micro-Algae production has seen growth of interest as a renewable source of food, nutraceutical, and biofuels. In this work we studied the integration of light emitting diodes (LED) in photobioreactors (PBRs) to increase the algal production efficiency. A multiwavelength LED light source with selectable intensity able to operate under continuous wave irradiation (CW) or with high intensity, short pulses, has been developed. The efficiency of biomass production has been examined both for CW and pulsed operations. The efficiency obtained with the Photovoltaic (PV) + LED light source is then compared to that of the solar radiation to analyze the performances of an indoor and outdoor system.