MSU Technologies

Light Scattering Fiber with Enhanced Side Emission for Photobioreactors

Executive Summary

Photobioreactors are used to cultivate various photosynthetic microorganisms to produce useful materials such as biofuels, value added chemicals. These systems regulate key factors including light, temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, and nutrients. A key challenge with photobioreactors is getting enough light into the medium especially when it is opague. Current light distribution methods rely on reactor shape, size, and circulation which are complex and costly. Researchers at Michigan State University have recently developed a new type of light fiber that has high side light emission. The system has been tested in opaque algae broth demonstrating up to 25 times improvement in biomass productivity.

Description of the Technology

This fiber technology is based on a crosslinked hydrogel that incorporates select sized nanoparticles to aid in scattering the light horizontally along the length of the fiber increasing the light intensity.The system has been tested in algae broth where it was found ithe volume-averaged light intensity by 30% within the algal medium. In tests with multiple fibers inserted into an algal medium it was found this reactivated the algal cells from the light-limited stationary phase to the light-sufficient exponential growth phase, producing 13x more biomass indoors and 25x more outdoors compared to controls.

Benefits

Simple production of fibers
Improved equal light distribution and intensity boosts biomass growth
Allows for the creation of deeper photobioreactors, improving production per area
High anti-fouling property of hydrogel has low maintenance cost

Applications