Date of Publication : January

Abstract: Algae are booming as promising solution for biofuels, carbon capture process, waste water treatment, dye extraction etc., However, traditional methods of cultivating the same suffers from lack of portability, manual intervention for nutrient supply and monitoring etc., Hence, this paper discusses on the design and development of portable, automated, table top bioreactor that would enable the cultivation of algae in a smart manner. The proposed system involves the design of a table top, closed reactor system of 25 litres capacity with inbuilt provisions for light, aeration and temperature maintenance. The sensors, to monitor key environmental parameters such as light intensity, temperature and pH are integrated and sent to a microcontroller unit. An image capturing mechanism is also integrated and processing of the above is exerted by the microcontroller to indicate the nutrient requirement for the growth of the algae. Depending on the growth prediction, the microcontroller enables the automated delivery of required nutrients. Real time implementation of the same is done and validated in the laboratory. The sensors are coupled with Digilent - Analog Discovery data acquisition module and coupled with microcontroller for automated prediction and nutrient delivery. The entire process and development are validated for the efficacy of algae growth. After the entire process, the extracted third generation bio-oil is aged under multiple stresses to produce a good quality bio-oil.

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