Model of Biological Assimilation of Co2 and O2 Production Through the Growth of the Microalga Scenedesmus Dimorphus in Semi-Continuous Cultivation in an AIrlift Bioreactor.

The biological assimilation of CO 2 by the microalga Scenedesmus dimorphus was modeled in a semicontinuous culture inside an airlift reactor.The experimental data was obtained from an experimental process, where the aforementioned microalga was grown using combustion gases from a steam boiler.The mathematical model obtained in this research was carried out using mass balance, involving the mass transfer of CO 2 , the formation rate of the HCO 3 -ion, the carrying capacity of the microalga, the intensity of light, the pH of the cultivation and O 2 production.The proposed model reproduced the biomass values obtained experimentally, since a maximum R 2 value of 0.995 was obtained.The experiments were done in six cultures where the light intensity was evaluated at 27, 60.7 and 76.3 µmol m -2 s -1 , using light/dark cycles of 14/10, 16/8 and 24/0.The gas flow used was of 0.275 L min -1 .In the simulation of dissolved O 2 it was observed that the maximum concentration was found between 50 and150 h of each experiment.