Optimizing electroactive membrane performance for microalgae harvesting: A response surface methodology study of membrane formulation and operating parameters for electro filtration.

Developing electroactive membranes for filtration has gained importance owing to their effectiveness in mitigating the long-lasting issue of fouling faced with traditional membranes. Here, we developed thin electroactive metallic films on to stainless steel mesh (SSM) using electrodeposition method and evaluated their performance for microalgae harvesting via electro filtration. The effect of electrodeposition parameters on membrane formulation and operating parameters for electro filtration, both in continuous and intermittent modes, were evaluated and optimum values were obtained using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal combination of electrodeposition parameters is 1000 µA/cm2 and 5 min for deposition current density and time, respectively. Whereas the electric field strength of 20 V/mm with an application time of 1 min is suggested to be the optimal combination of electro filtration parameters for maximized flux recovery and corresponding experimental rejection efficiency of more than 90%. Overall, this research contributes to a better understanding of the parameters governing electro-filtration and offers insights for improving the performance of membrane-based microalgae harvesting systems.

The Effect of Dexmedetomidine on the Mini-Cog Score and High-Mobility Group Box 1 Levels in Elderly Patients with Postoperative Neurocognitive Disorders Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery.

Dexmedetomidine prevents postoperative cognitive dysfunction by inhibiting high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), which acts as an inflammatory marker. This study investigated the HMGB1 levels and the cognitive function using a Mini-Cog© score in elderly patients undergoing orthopedic surgery with dexmedetomidine infusion. In total, 128 patients aged ≥ 65 years were analyzed. The patients received saline in the control group and dexmedetomidine in the dexmedetomidine group until the end of surgery. Blood sampling and the Mini-Cog© test were performed before the surgery and on postoperative days 1 and 3. The primary outcomes were the effect of dexmedetomidine on the HMGB1 levels and the Mini-Cog© score in terms of postoperative cognitive function. The Mini-Cog© score over time differed significantly between the groups (p = 0.008), with an increase in the dexmedetomidine group. The postoperative HMGB1 levels increased over time in both groups; however, there was no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.969). The probability of perioperative neurocognitive disorders decreased by 0.48 times as the Mini-Cog© score on postoperative day 3 increased by 1 point. Intraoperative dexmedetomidine has shown an increase in the postoperative Mini-Cog© score. Thus, the Mini-Cog© score is a potential tool for evaluating cognitive function in elderly patients.

Electrochemically-mediated reactive separation of nitric oxide into nitrate using iron chelate.

Valorization of nitric oxide is a promising solution for addressing the environmental and resource issues related to the nitrogen cycle. However, low concentrations of nitric oxide combined with impurities in exhaust streams limit its potential, and it requires extensive energy to produce high-purity nitric oxide. Here, we propose a synergistic reactive separation system that combines iron-chelate selective absorption with an electrochemical reaction to convert nitric oxide to nitrate. Among the iron-based chelates tested, EDTA was found to be the most effective in capturing gas-phase nitric oxide. Direct electrochemical oxidation of Fe-EDTA-NO solution exhibited Faradaic efficiency and a partial current density toward nitrate of 70% and 30.1 mA cm-2 at 2.2 V vs RHE and pH 7, resulting in a 43-fold enhancement of nitrate partial current density and a 2-fold improvement in Faradaic efficiency compared to simple purging without selective absorbent. Nitrate was then selectively recovered from the Fe-EDTA system using simple polarity reversal following electrooxidation with a separation factor of 13 over background sulfate. This study offers a new approach to gas-phase NO remediation and valorization using an electrified means.

Neuroprotective effect of dexmedetomidine on autophagy in mice administered intracerebroventricular injections of Aß25-35.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases is associated with pathological autophagy-lysosomal pathway dysfunction. Dexmedetomidine (Dex) has been suggested as an adjuvant to general anesthesia with advantages in reducing the incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in Dex-treated patients with AD and older individuals. Several studies reported that Dex improved memory; however, evidence on the effects of Dex on neuronal autophagy dysfunction in the AD model is lacking. We hypothesized that Dex administration would have neuroprotective effects by improving pathological autophagy dysfunction in mice that received an intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of amyloid ß-protein fragment 25-35 (Aß25-35) and in an autophagy-deficient cellular model. In the Y-maze test, Dex reversed the decreased activity of Aß25-35 mice. Additionally, it restored the levels of two memory-related proteins, phosphorylated Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (p-CaMKII) and postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) in Aß25-35 mice and organotypic hippocampal slice culture (OHSC) with Aß25-35. Dex administration also resulted in decreased expression of the autophagy-related microtubule-associated proteins light chain 3-II (LC3-II), p62, lysosome-associated membrane protein2 (LAMP2), and cathepsin D in Aß25-35 mice and OHSC with Aß25-35. Increased numbers of co-localized puncta of LC3-LAMP2 or LC3-cathepsin D, along with dissociated LC3-p62 immunoreactivity following Dex treatment, were observed. These findings were consistent with the results of western blots and the transformation of double-membrane autophagosomes into single-membraned autolysosomes in ultrastructures. It was evident that Dex treatment alleviated impaired autolysosome formation in Aß mice. Our study demonstrated the improvement of memory impairment caused by Dex and its neuroprotective mechanism by investigating the role of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway in a murine Aß25-35 model. These findings suggest that Dex could be used as a potential neuroprotective adjuvant in general anesthesia to prevent cognitive decline.

Novel metallic stainless-steel mesh-supported conductive membrane and its performance in the electro-filtration process.

In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication of a thoroughly metallic electro-conductive membrane by using simple filtration to uniformly coat AgNWs dispersion through stainless steel (SUS)-mesh, which functions both as filter and a flexible conductive substrate. The as-prepared AgNWs networks layer on the SUS-mesh was further strengthened by electroplating Ag layers (P-SUS membrane); exhibiting an overall electrical conductivity of 9.2 × 104 S/m, which is up to 42 times greater than the conductivity of pristine SUS-mesh. The P-SUS membrane exhibited adequate physical durability against chemical and mechanical stresses under prolonged filtration, and high pure water flux of 534 ± 54 LMH/bar. This electro-membrane displayed the anticipated flux recovery in harvesting microalgae (Chlorella sp. HS-2) when filtration was done with the membrane used as a cathode: micro-sized bubbles, generated from the cathodic membrane, functioned to detach the foulants and recover the relative flux to a significant level. The P-SUS membrane indeed possesses necessary traits that the polymer-support membrane lacks, in terms of not only electrical conductivity and mechanical strength but also filtration performance with anti-fouling capability, all of which are of necessity to be considered workable electroconductive membrane.

Policy Design for an Ankle-Foot Orthosis Using Simulated Physical Human-Robot Interaction via Deep Reinforcement Learning.

This paper presents a novel approach for designing a robotic orthosis controller considering physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). Computer simulation for this human-robot system can be advantageous in terms of time and cost due to the laborious nature of designing a robot controller that effectively assists humans with the appropriate magnitude and phase. Therefore, we propose a two-stage policy training framework based on deep reinforcement learning (deep RL) to design a robot controller using human-robot dynamic simulation. In Stage 1, the optimal policy of generating human gaits is obtained from deep RL-based imitation learning on a healthy subject model using the musculoskeletal simulation in OpenSim-RL. In Stage 2, human models in which the right soleus muscle is weakened to a certain severity are created by modifying the human model obtained from Stage 1. A robotic orthosis is then attached to the right ankle of these models. The orthosis policy that assists walking with optimal torque is then trained on these models. Here, the elastic foundation model is used to predict the pHRI in the coupling part between the human and robotic orthosis. Comparative analysis of kinematic and kinetic simulation results with the experimental data shows that the derived human musculoskeletal model imitates a human walking. It also shows that the robotic orthosis policy obtained from two-stage policy training can assist the weakened soleus muscle. The proposed approach was validated by applying the learned policy to ankle orthosis, conducting a gait experiment, and comparing it with the simulation results.

Sustainable energy harvesting and on-site disinfection of natural seawater using reverse electrodialysis.

Seawater is a cost-effective and abundant electrolyte used as an electrode rinse solution to enable optimum utilization of reverse electrodialysis (RED). However, it is associated with several limitations, including the use of precious electrode materials, and its long-term stability must be addressed prior to its application in the field of seawater technology. In this context, a novel RED based on carbon electrodes was designed, and the experimental conditions were optimized for maximizing the harvesting of energy with aquaculture wastewater disinfection and recycling. The power obtained by RED, with a current density of 30 A/m2 and a flow rate of 424 mL/min, designed by response surface methodology, was in good agreement with the predicted maximum power density (0.64 W/m2). The treatment was sustainable, mainly due to an anodic reaction of electro-generated sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) under natural conditions, which afforded a high disinfection efficiency (above 99.5 ± 0.2% within 1 min under continuous flow (pH 8)), even under real seawater conditions and in aquaculture wastewater. Simultaneously, a stable power of 0.1 ± 0.03 W (0.25 ± 0.07 W/m2) generated a reasonable specific energy (within 0.02 kWh/m3). Inorganic fouling was efficiently suppressed using a surface-modified carbon cathode for 680 h. Thus, the on-site seawater disinfection by RED described herein is practically feasible and could offer a sustainable and energy-efficient alternative to seawater recycling.

Assessment of Perioperative Atelectasis Using Lung Ultrasonography in Patients Undergoing Pneumoperitoneum Surgery in the Trendelenburg Position: Aspects of Differences according to Ventilatory Mode.

BACKGROUND: During robotic gynecologic pneumoperitoneum surgery in the Trendelenburg position, aeration loss leads to perioperative atelectasis. Recently developed ventilator mode pressure-controlled ventilation volume-guaranteed (PCV-VG) mode could provide adequate ventilation with lower inspiratory pressure compared to volume-controlled ventilation (VCV); we hypothesized that PCV-VG mode may be beneficial in reducing perioperative atelectasis via low tidal volume (VT) of 6 mL/kg ventilation during robotic gynecologic pneumoperitoneum surgery in the Trendelenburg position. We applied lung ultrasound score (LUS) for detecting perioperative atelectasis. We aimed to compare perioperative atelectasis between VCV and PCV-VG with a low VT of 6 mL/kg during pneumoperitoneum surgery in the Trendelenburg position using LUS. METHODS: Patients scheduled for robotic gynecologic surgery were randomly allocated to the VCV (n = 41) or PCV-VG group (n = 41). LUS, ventilatory, and hemodynamic parameters were evaluated at T1 (before induction), T2 (10 minutes after induction in the supine position), T3 (10 minutes after desufflation of CO2 in the supine position), and T4 (30 minutes after emergence from anesthesia in the recovery room). RESULTS: Eighty patients (40 with PCV-VG and 40 with VCV) were included. Demographic data showed no significant differences between the groups. The total LUS has changed from baseline to T4, 0.63 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32, 0.94) to 1.77 (95% CI, 1.42, 2.21) in the VCV group and 0.86 (95% CI, 0.56, 1.16) to 1.43 (95% CI, 1.08, 1.78) in the PCV-VG group (P = 0.170). In both groups, total LUS increased significantly compared to the baseline values. CONCLUSION: Using a low VT of 6 mL/kg during pneumoperitoneum surgery in the Trendelenburg position, our study showed no evidence that PCV-VG ventilation was superior to VCV in terms of perioperative atelectasis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Research Information Service Identifier: KCT0006404.

Gas-diffusion-electrode based direct electro-stripping system for gaseous ammonia recovery from livestock wastewater.

Livestock wastewater (LW) typically contains a substantial amount of NH4+ that can potentially be recovered and used in fertilizers or chemicals. In an attempt to recover NH4+ from LW, a novel electrochemical approach using a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) was developed and its efficacy was demonstrated in this study. The GDE-based electrochemical device, when operated at an air-flow rate of 20 mL/min, was free of back-diffusion flux, which is a fatal drawback of any membrane-based NH4+ separation approach. Continuous operation resulted in a nitrogen flux of 890 g N/m2d with synthetic LW and 770 g N/m2d with real LW at a current density of 10 mA/cm2. The electrochemical energy input was 7.42 kWh/kg N with synthetic LW and 9.44 kWh/kg N with real LW. Compared with the traditional stripping method, the GDE-based electrochemical system has a certain potential to be competitive, in terms of energy consumption. For instance, a rough-cost estimate based only on operating costs regarding chemical usage, air blowing, and water pumping revealed that the system consumed 13.44 kWh/kg N, whereas the conventional stripper required 27.6 kWh/kg N. This analysis showed that an electrochemical approach such as our GDE-based method can recover NH3, (particularly in gaseous form) from LW. In addition, with the future development of a smart operation method, as proposed and demonstrated in this study, the cost-effective implementation of a GDE-based method is feasible.

Inertial Microfluidics-Based Separation of Microalgae Using a Contraction-Expansion Array Microchannel.

Microalgae separation technology is essential for both executing laboratory-based fundamental studies and ensuring the quality of the final algal products. However, the conventional microalgae separation technology of micropipetting requires highly skilled operators and several months of repeated separation to obtain a microalgal single strain. This study therefore aimed at utilizing microfluidic cell sorting technology for the simple and effective separation of microalgae. Microalgae are characterized by their various morphologies with a wide range of sizes. In this study, a contraction-expansion array microchannel, which utilizes these unique properties of microalgae, was specifically employed for the size-based separation of microalgae. At Reynolds number of 9, two model algal cells, Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) and Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis), were successfully separated without showing any sign of cell damage, yielding a purity of 97.9% for C. vulgaris and 94.9% for H. pluvialis. The result supported that the inertia-based separation technology could be a powerful alternative to the labor-intensive and time-consuming conventional microalgae separation technologies.

Electrochemical ammonia accumulation and recovery from ammonia-rich livestock wastewater.

High levels of ammonia inhibit microbial activities and lead to process instability of traditional wastewater treatment. Nitrogen recovery via ammonia stripping is the best developed method, but this approach requires large amounts of alkaline chemicals and substantial energy for stripping. In this study, we designed a simple electrochemical system that allows the facile accumulation of a neutral species of ammonia (NH3), resulting in much lower overall stripping costs. In batch operation treatment of synthetic livestock wastewater (LW), the energy efficiency for total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) migration was found to be the best at a current density of 93.8 mA cm-2. Fed-batch operation, using synthetic or real LW, resulted in very high degrees of TAN accumulation (10,158 mg-N L-1 for synthetic and 17,704 mg-N L-1 for real LW) in catholyte after 400 min. It was found that TAN migration was responsible for 0.221 and 0.492 of total charge migration for synthetic and real LW, respectively. The nitrogen flux across a cation exchange membrane was 5975 g-N m-2 d-1 with an energy input of 28.2 kWh (kg-N)-1 when using real LW. All this supported the conclusion that an electrochemical approach such as this makes it possible to achieve highly desirable ammonia recovery from wastewater in a sustainable manner.

Effects of various methods of dexmedetomidine administration for sedation in elderly patients undergoing spinal anesthesia: a randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of sedation and the incidence of adverse effects resulting from various methods of administering the initial dose followed by continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine (DEX) for sedation in elderly patients undergoing spinal anesthesia. METHODS: In total, 72 patients aged over 65 years who were to be administered spinal anesthesia were randomly allocated into three groups. The initial doses were injected to the groups as follows: group DD, DEX 0.5 µg/kg for 10 min; group MD, midazolam 0.02 mg/kg; and group D, no initial dose. This was followed immediately by infusing a maintenance dose of DEX 0.5 µg/kg/h to all groups. RESULTS: The Bispectral index (BIS) in the D group was significantly higher than in the other two groups. There were no significant differences in the Ramsay sedation scale (RSS) among the groups. The RSS 3 level was reached in 10 min from the start of sedation in MD and DD groups and in 20 min from the start of sedation in D group. Neither bradycardia nor hypotension was observed in any of the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients in all three groups reached the RSS 3 sedating-effect level. However, the group that received continuous infusion only without the initial dose showed higher BIS than the other two groups and reached the RSS 3 later. No adverse events were observed in any of the groups.

Heparin-free veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a multiple trauma patient: A case report.

RATIONALE: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in multiple trauma patients with post-traumatic respiratory failure can be quite challenging because of the need for systemic anticoagulation, which may lead to excessive bleeding. In the last decade, there is a growing body of evidence that veno-venous ECMO (VV-ECMO) is lifesaving in multiple trauma patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, thanks to technical improvements in ECMO devices. PATIENT CONCERNS: We report a case of a 17-year-old multiple trauma patient who was drunken and had confused mentality. DIAGNOSES: She was suffered from critical respiratory failure (life-threatening hypoxemia and severe hypercapnia/acidosis lasting for 70 minutes) accompanied by cardiac arrest and trauma-induced coagulopathy during general anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: We decided to start heparin-free VV-ECMO after cardiac arrest considering risk of hemorrhage. OUTCOMES: She survived with no neurologic sequelae after immediate treatment with heparin-free VV-ECMO. LESSONS: Heparin-free VV-ECMO can be used as a resuscitative therapy in multiple trauma patients with critical respiratory failure accompanied by coagulopathy. Even in cases in which life-threatening hypoxemia and severe hypercapnia/acidosis last for >1 hours during CPR for cardiac arrest, VV-ECMO could be considered a potential lifesaving treatment.

Gold recovery using porphyrin-based polymer from electronic wastes: Gold desorption and adsorbent regeneration.

Electronic wastes containing precious metals have great potential as a sustainable source of such metals. Separation and refining, however, remain complicated, and none of the existing technologies have yet experienced commercialization. A novel porphyrin-based porous polymer, named COP-180, was recently introduced as a powerful adsorbent option, especially for gold, and in this study, aspects of desorption and recovery of adsorbed gold and regeneration of the polymer were investigated. A hydrometallurgical method using non-cyanide leaching agents was developed, and an acid thiourea-based solution was found to be particularly suited for the method based on COP-180 with gold desorption efficiency of 97%. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectra demonstrated the unaffected structure of COP-180 after desorption, implying the potential of its reuse. This high desorption efficiency was achieved even without typical aiding agents by means of a formamidine disulfide-mediated route that prevented thiourea consumption, which is considered a major drawback of the otherwise promising reagent. Using this method, the polymer was able to maintain more than 94% desorption efficiency after five times of regeneration. The results suggest that acid thiourea can offer a workable means of recovering gold particularly from the excellent gold-adsorbent of COP-180, and that repeated regeneration is also possible.

Multi-bandgap Solar Energy Conversion via Combination of Microalgal Photosynthesis and Spectrally Selective Photovoltaic Cell.

Microalgal photosynthesis is a promising solar energy conversion process to produce high concentration biomass, which can be utilized in the various fields including bioenergy, food resources, and medicine. In this research, we study the optical design rule for microalgal cultivation systems, to efficiently utilize the solar energy and improve the photosynthesis efficiency. First, an organic luminescent dye of 3,6-Bis(4'-(diphenylamino)-1,1'-biphenyl-4-yl)-2,5-dihexyl-2,5-dihydropyrrolo3,4-c pyrrole -1,4-dione (D1) was coated on a photobioreactor (PBR) for microalgal cultivation. Unlike previous reports, there was no enhancement in the biomass productivities under artificial solar illuminations of 0.2 and 0.6 sun. We analyze the limitations and future design principles of the PBRs using photoluminescence under strong illumination. Second, as a multiple-bandgaps-scheme to maximize the conversion efficiency of solar energy, we propose a dual-energy generator that combines microalgal cultivation with spectrally selective photovoltaic cells (PVs). In the proposed system, the blue and green photons, of which high energy is not efficiently utilized in photosynthesis, are absorbed by a large-bandgap PV, generating electricity with a high open-circuit voltage (Voc) in reward for narrowing the absorption spectrum. Then, the unabsorbed red photons are guided into PBR and utilized for photosynthesis with high efficiency. Under an illumination of 7.2 kWh m-2 d-1, we experimentally verified that our dual-energy generator with C60-based PV can simultaneously produce 20.3 g m-2 d-1 of biomass and 220 Wh m-2 d-1 of electricity by utilizing multiple bandgaps in a single system.

Terrain Feature Estimation Method for a Lower Limb Exoskeleton Using Kinematic Analysis and Center of Pressure.

While controlling a lower limb exoskeleton providing walking assistance to wearers, the walking terrain is an important factor that should be considered for meeting performance and safety requirements. Therefore, we developed a method to estimate the slope and elevation using the contact points between the limb exoskeleton and ground. We used the center of pressure as a contact point on the ground and calculated the location of the contact points on the walking terrain based on kinematic analysis of the exoskeleton. Then, a set of contact points collected from each step during walking was modeled as the plane that represents the surface of the walking terrain through the least-square method. Finally, by comparing the normal vectors of the modeled planes for each step, features of the walking terrain were estimated. We analyzed the estimation accuracy of the proposed method through experiments on level ground, stairs, and a ramp. Classification using the estimated features showed recognition accuracy higher than 95% for all experimental motions. The proposed method approximately analyzed the movement of the exoskeleton on various terrains even though no prior information on the walking terrain was provided. The method can enable exoskeleton systems to actively assist walking in various environments.

Sulfate reducing bacteria-based wastewater treatment system integrated with sulfide fuel cell for simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation.

This study aimed to design a sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)-based wastewater treatment system (SWTS) integrated with a sulfide fuel cell (SFC) as an alternative to the energy-intensive aerobic wastewater treatment process. The result showed that the COD/sulfate ratio and hydraulic retention time (HRT) were two important parameters in a SWTS. The highest COD and sulfate removal efficiency rates were at a HRT of 4 h at a COD/sulfate ratio of 0.67, reaching 83 ±â€¯0.2% and 84 ±â€¯0.4% with sulfate removal rates of 4.087 ±â€¯32 mg SO42-/d, respectively. A microbial analysis revealed that the dominance of nine OTUs belonging to SRB closely affected the high sulfate removal efficiency in the SWTS. At the HRT of 8 h, voltage of 0.02 V and a power density level of 130 mW/m2 were obtained with sulfide removal efficiency of 99 ±â€¯0.5%. These results overall demonstrate that SRB can serve as a green and effective route for wastewater treatment.

Co-production of biodiesel and alginate from Laminaria japonica.

A process to produce both biodiesel and alginate in an integrated manner from a brown seaweed, Laminaria japonica, was established. Mannitol, a major carbon constituent in L. japonica, served to produce neutral lipids via the heterotrophic cultivation of an oleaginous yeast, Cryptococcus sp.; and simultaneously alginate, a high value product, was extracted to enhance the economic feasibility of the entire process. Only autoclave pretreatment, without need of any chemical agents, was enough to recover all the essential nutrients for the yeast cultivation. Specifically, it could recover 6.4 g L-1 of mannitol to a degree comparable to 6.6 g L-1 obtained by acid-aided pretreatment using 1.5% (v/v) of H2SO4. Maximum fatty acids methyl esters (FAME) content was 30.37% with FAME productivity of 0.56 g L-1 d-1, and the produced FAME could meet the biodiesel quality standards. Na2CO3-based method showed the best efficiency of alginate recovery, yielding 21.06% (w/w). This study supports that L. japonica can indeed be a promising low-cost feedstock for biodiesel production, and it is more so when a high-value product alginate is co-produced.

Carbon balance of major volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in recycling algal residue via a VFA-platform for reproduction of algal biomass.

The feasibility of a carbon recycling system that transforms algal residue to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) for re-cultivating microalgae was evaluated based on a carbon balance analysis of major VFAs consisting of acetate (HAc), propionate (HPr), and butyrate (HBu). This system largely involves two processes: (i) bioconversion of algal residue to VFAs by anaerobic fermentation, and (ii) cultivation of microalgae using the produced VFAs. The carbon balance for each unit process was examined to assess how much carbon in algal residue can be converted to these major VFAs and then assimilated to microalgae biomass. First, the yield and the profile of VFAs from raw algae (RA) and lipid-extracted algae (LEA) at psychrophilic (15 °C), mesophilic (35 °C), and thermophilic conditions (55 °C) were compared. When digesting the LEA under the thermophilic condition, the highest conversion yield, 0.36 (g carbon in VFAs/g carbon in biomass), with a compositional ratio of 6:1:3 (HAc: HPr: HBu) was obtained. Consumption of VFAs for microalgal growth reached a maximum value of 0.66 (g VFAs assimilated to biomass/g VFAs provided) at the compositional ratio of 6:1:3. Consequently, the maximum total carbon recycling ratio was 23.8% when fermenting LEA at the thermophilic condition. Our findings comprehensively revealed that establishing conditions that convert LEA to higher content of acetate is a decisive factor. It was estimated that around 40% of the total carbon from the LEA can be recovered for the production of algal biomass, when increasing the VFA conversion yield beyond 60% by adopting pretreatment methods.

Study of Optical Configurations for Multiple Enhancement of Microalgal Biomass Production.

Microalga is a promising biomass feedstock to restore the global carbon balance and produce sustainable bioenergy. However, the present biomass productivity of microalgae is not high enough to be marketable mainly because of the inefficient utilization of solar energy. Here, we study optical engineering strategies to lead to a breakthrough in the biomass productivity and photosynthesis efficiency of a microalgae cultivation system. Our innovative optical system modelling reveals the theoretical potential (>100 g m-2 day-1) of the biomass productivity and it is used to compare the optical aspects of various photobioreactor designs previously proposed. Based on the optical analysis, the optimized V-shaped configuration experimentally demonstrates an enhancement of biomass productivity from 20.7 m-2 day-1 to 52.0 g m-2 day-1, under the solar-simulating illumination of 7.2 kWh m-2 day-1, through the dilution and trapping of incident energy. The importance of quantitative optical study for microalgal photosynthesis is clearly exhibited with practical demonstration of the doubled light utilization efficiencies.