Cuaresma Franco, MaríaJanssen, MarcelVílchez Lobato, CarlosWijffels, René H.2025-01-282025-01-282011-02-02Cuaresma, M., Janssen, M., Vílchez, C., Wijffels, R. (2011) Horizontal or Vertical photobioreactors? How to improve microalgae photosynthetic efficiency. Bioresource Technology 102: 5129–51371873-2976 (electrónico)https://hdl.handle.net/10272/24953The productivity of a vertical outdoor photobioreactor was quantitatively assessed and compared to a horizontal reactor. Daily light cycles in southern Spain were simulated and applied to grow the microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana in a flat panel photobioreactor. The maximal irradiance around noon differs from 400 micromol photons m-2 s-1 in the vertical position to 1800 micromol photons m-2 s-1 in the horizontal position. The highest volumetric productivity was achieved in the simulated horizontal position, 4 g kg culture-1 d-1. The highest photosynthetic efficiency was found for the vertical simulation, 1.3 g of biomass produced per mol of PAR photons supplied, which compares favorably to the horizontal position (0.85 g mol-1) and to the theoretical maximal yield (1.8 g mol-1). These results prove that productivity per unit of ground area could be greatly enhanced by placing the photobioreactors vertically.engAtribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 Españahttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/Reactor orientationLight dilutionPhotosynthetic efficiencyProductivityChlorella sorokinianajournal articlehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2011.01.078open access3302 Tecnología Bioquímica2302 Bioquímica