Optimization of microalgal photobioreactor system using model predictive control with experimental validation.

To maximize biomass and lipid concentrations, various optimization methods were investigated in microalgal photobioreactor systems under mixotrophic conditions. Lipid concentration was estimated using unscented Kalman filter (UKF) with other measurable sources and subsequently used as lipid data for performing model predictive control (MPC). In addition, the maximized biomass and lipid trajectory obtained by open-loop optimization were used as target trajectory for tracking by MPC. Simulation studies and experimental validation were performed and significant improvements in biomass and lipid productivity were achieved in the case where MPC was applied. However, occurence of a lag phase was observed while manipulating the feed flow rates, which is induced by large amount of inputs. This is an important phenomenon that can lead to model-plant mismatch and requires further study for the optimization of microalgal photobioreactors.

Solvent Etching Process for Graphitic Carbon Nitride Photocatalysts Containing Platinum Cocatalyst: Effects of Water Hydrolysis on Photocatalytic Properties and Hydrogen Evolution Behaviors.

In this study, we synthesized Pt/g-C3N4 photocatalysts modified by a solvent etching process where ethanol (Pt/CN0), water (Pt/CN100), and a 50:50 mixture (Pt/CN50) were used as a solvent, and investigated the optimal properties of g-C3N4 to prepare the best Pt/g-C3N4 for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. From diverse characterizations, water was proven to be a stronger solvent agent, resulting in not only the introduction of more O-functional groups onto the g-C3N4 surface, but also the degradation of a regular array of tri-s-triazine units in the g-C3N4 structure. While the addition of O-functional groups positively influenced the oxidation state of the Pt cocatalyst and the hydrogen production rate, the changes to g-C3N4 structure retarded charge transfer on its surface, inducing negative effects such as fast recombination and less oxidized Pt species. Pt/CN50 that was synthesized with the 50:50 solvent mixture exhibited the highest hydrogen production rate of 590.9 µmol g-1h-1, while the hydrogen production rates of Pt/CN0 (with pure ethanol solvent) and Pt/CN100 (with pure water solvent) were 462.7, and 367.3 µmol g-1h-1, respectively.

Real-time estimation of glucose concentration in algae cultivation system using Raman spectroscopy.

This work proposes a soft-sensor design for real-time estimation of glucose concentration under mixotrophic conditions using Raman spectroscopy. The suggested approach applies a Rolling-Circle Filter (RCF), Partial Least Squares (PLS), and a successive Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing filter. RCF is used to remove the background effects of Raman spectrum in the pre-processing step. PLS is used to reduce the dimensionality of spectrum data and relate them to the concentration. The SG filter is further employed as a post-processing step in a successive manner to adjust predicted glucose concentrations. Two sets of experiments using artificial assays and samples from a microalgae cultivation system were performed for verification. The proposed approach showed improved prediction performances compared to other data processing and regression techniques.