Photobioreactors

Photobioreactor Scaleup (c) IGV

Photobioreactors are guiding technology for a sustainable future. bbi has integrated the experience of Prof. Pulz in photobioreactor engineering, design and construction into its own life science portfolio after 30 years of know-how production at IGV. Novel automation systems and optimized operational parameters are implemented in bbi’s upgraded photobioreactor series, while we still rely on horizontal glass tubes as main photobioreactor material.

Photobioreactor Engineering and Design

A photobioreactor supplies light and CO₂ to microalgae and other plant cells. The algae grow to a dense green, red or brown liquid when additonally supplied with nutrients. The harvest of microalgae biomass is done with centrifuges or sieves after the algae culture has reached maximal cell count or dry biomass content. Smaller installations are operated batch-wise, while scaled photobioreactors are operated in fed-batch-mode.

bbi supplies photobioreactors from lab- up to production scale. The successful scaling of our design principles is founded on the application of high-value glass tubes, which do in contrast to other plastic plate or bag systems allow modular and centralized photobioreactor construction layouts. High-end in-situ steam-sterilizable research phototobioreactors for high-level R&D are possible as well as production photobioreactors for greenhouse or outdoor installation.

The glass tube application provides advantages as follows:

Optimal illumination of thin algae suspension layers
100% flat surfaces prevent immobilization and biofouling
100% flat surfaces for minimized pump energy input
Both best transmission rates and light-fastness
Guaranteed glass tube shelf life of at least 10 years
Reduced investment in comparison to plastic materials

We supply system solutions. We combined proven photobioreactor components with our xCUBIO Bioreactor Toolbox. We contributed automation systems and other technological parts or even did the whole project execution for more than 100 of IGV’s photobioreactors. This know-how has been used to expand our product portfolio after the successful agreement with IGV in March 2015. We are now able to supply novel photobioreactors, which are equipped with a handful of optmizations. Our customers are R&D-departments of both companies and universities but we do also support projects for the erection of scaled algae production installations with technology from our own life-science workshop.

Please take a closer look at our high-value photobioreactor designs on the following tabs:

xCUBIO phar - The World's Smallest Tubular Photobioreactor

xCUBIO pbr, NEW 2015: xCUBIO phar

xCUBIO phar: High-End Microalgae Research

Overall volume app. 5 Litres
Glass tube app. 9 m long with 20 mm diameter
LED-illumination with up to four separately controlled wavelengths and multiple cycle regimes
Internal system vessel for CO₂-feed, oxygen removal, tempering, sensor installation and level control
Autoclavable circular system pump with magnet coupling for high flow rates, successfully tested with many algae strains
System devices with contact to algae autoclavable in lab-autoclave after finished mounting and media filling

Steam Sterilizable Photobioreactors in-situ

Photobioreactor xCUBIO in-situ phar 25 L

xCUBIO in-situ phar: in-situ Sterilizable Photobioreactors

Fully automatic sterilization with steam
Operational volume from 25 up to 250 Litres
All media contact devices are stainless steel
Accredited for GMO-cultivation
Possibility for qualification and validation
GMP- and FDA-compliant design
Cultivation even of the most sensitive microalgae species

MEDUSA - in-situ sterlizable Air Lift Photobioreactor

MEDUSA: Sterile Airlift Photobioreactor

MEDUSA – in-situ Sterilizable Air Lift Photobioreactor

Bubble column by airlift principle
Standardized volumes 25, 50 and 100 Litres
For microalgae, mosses and plant cells with high sensitivity towards shearing stress
For extreme purity requirements
Fully in-situ-sterilizable with steam, steam generator available as an option
All media contact devices are high-value borosilicate glass
Controlled illumination with fluorescent tubes

Photobioreactor 100 Litre microalgae cultivation in the lab

Lab-Scale-Photobioreactor 100 L (c) IGV