Control of the light-to-microalgae ratio in a photobioreactor

This paper deals with the design of a controller that maximizes the biomass production in an artificially lighted photobioreactor operated in batch mode, by maintaining the ratio between the incident light intensity and the biomass concentration (light-to-microalgae ratio) at targeted light regime. The controller acts on the incident light intensity applied on the photobioreactor surface. First, the optimal ratio trajectory is determined and then the obtained optimal trajectory is tracked using a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control law. The proposed control strategy performances were illustrated and assessed in simulation for a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii batch culture.