MICROALGAE HARVESTING IN A MICROFLUIDIC CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR FOR ENHANCED BIOFUEL PRODUCTION

Among various sources for biofuels, microalgae provide at least three-orders-of-magnitude higher production rate of biodiesel at a given land area than conventional crop-based methods. However, microalgal biodiesel still suffers from significantly lower harvesting efficiency, making such a fuel less competitive. To increase the separation efficiency of microalgae from cultivation solution, an orbital microchannel was utilized that enabled the isolation of biofuel-algae particles from the effluent. The results obtained showed that the separation efficiency in the microfluidic centrifugal separator can be as high as 76% within a quick separation time of 30 seconds. Multiple parameters of algae behaviors and separation techniques such as initial concentration, pH and temperature were studied and manipulated to achieve better efficiencies. It was found that changing these factors altered the separation efficiency by increasing or decreasing flocculation, or “clumping” of the microalgae within the microchannels. The results suggested that an acidic condition would enhance the separation efficiency since in a basic environment, large flocs of microalgae would block and hinder the separation process. Furthermore, a hot temperature solution (around 33 °C) yielded to a higher separation efficiency. The important characteristics of the separator geometry and the infusion rate on algae separation were also very effective in the separation process. This study revealed that there is an opportunity to improve the currently low efficiency of algae separation in centrifugal systems using much smaller designs in size, ensuring a much more efficient algae harvesting.