When spe­cia­lists join forces and exploit pro­ject-spe­ci­fic syn­er­gies, some­thing new usual­ly emer­ges. Tog­e­ther with micro algae sys­tems spe­cia­list Varicon Aqua Solu­ti­ons Ltd., SANSOL has rea­li­zed a cus­to­mi­zed plant with an inno­va­ti­ve illu­mi­na­ti­on sys­tem for an effi­ci­ent algae pro­duc­tion. The pro­ject bene­fi­ted from SANSOL’s many years of light­ing expe­ri­ence in the field of algae pro­duc­tion and its spe­ci­fi­cal­ly deve­lo­ped light­ing solutions.

Jen­ners­dorf, Febru­ary 04, 2021 — The pro­ject to be rea­li­zed requi­red the competences of seve­ral spe­cia­lists. Pri­ma­ri­ly the visi­on of the lea­ding bio­lo­gi­cal sci­en­tists of Boga­zi­ci Uni­ver­si­ty who took gre­at care in the con­cep­ti­on of the Bio­re­fi­nery pro­ject and who work­ed clo­se­ly with sup­pli­ers to deter­mi­ne the sui­ta­bi­li­ty and effi­ca­cy of the various tech­no­lo­gies sel­ec­ted. Then on the one hand, Varicon Aqua Solu­ti­ons Ltd. ensu­res effi­ci­ent and relia­ble pro­duc­tion of algae spe­ci­es using its inno­va­ti­ve algae pho­to­bio­re­ac­tors (PBRs) the Phy­co-Flow™ and Phy­co Bubble™. More than thir­ty years of expe­ri­ence in the deve­lo­p­ment, plan­ning and con­s­truc­tion of cus­to­mi­zed algae pho­to­bio­re­ac­tors and cultivation sys­tems went into the pro­ject. SANSOL, on the other hand, with its expo­sure solu­ti­ons and com­pre­hen­si­ve pro­ject exper­ti­se, gua­ran­teed a solu­ti­on per­fect­ly tail­o­red to the plant and the operator‘s needs: a sea­son-inde­pen­dent, cost-effi­ci­ent as well as high-yield pro­duc­tion. To ful­ly exploit the poten­ti­al of the light­ing solu­ti­on, the fol­lo­wing suc­cess fac­tors had to be met: 

• A sys­tem solu­ti­on expli­cit­ly tail­o­red to the situa­ti­on, con­sis­ting of algae pho­to­bio­re­ac­tor plant and opti­mi­zed expo­sure solution.
• A preli­mi­na­ry plan­ning and defi­ni­ti­on of the para­me­ters for the use of a pro­fes­sio­nal expo­sure solution.
• Ensu­ring a cost-effi­ci­ent and dura­ble solu­ti­on for indus­tri­al use with increased pro­tec­tion requirements.
• A pro­fes­sio­nal, tech­ni­cal com­pa­ra­ti­ve ana­ly­sis of alter­na­ti­ve light­ing solu­ti­ons high­light­ing the supe­ri­or effi­ca­cy of the SANSOL. 

Algae growth is lar­ge­ly deter­mi­ned by solar radia­ti­on, ambi­ent tem­pe­ra­tu­re and the addi­ti­on of nut­ri­ents. With the help of the cus­to­mi­zed SANSOL expo­sure solu­ti­on with tun­ed light spec­trum, the through­put and yield of the plant could be mea­sur­a­b­ly increased while using ener­gy spa­rin­gly. It had to be ensu­red that the pho­tons could pene­tra­te the algae solu­ti­on with mini­mal reflec­tion los­ses at the glass wall of the bio­re­ac­tor. The Light­ing Sys­tem FLEX-PRO Series by SANSOL ensu­res this with opti­mi­zed lens optics. It is spe­ci­fi­cal­ly adapt­ed to the geo­me­try of the algae pho­to­bio­re­ac­tors. The light rods, which are arran­ged par­al­lel to the algae pho­to­bio­re­ac­tors on both sides, radia­te even­ly onto the glass tubes. This redu­ces reflec­tion from the glass wall and pro­mo­tes algae growth. A broad­band emis­si­on spec­trum adjus­ted to the algae spe­ci­es ensu­res effi­ci­ent bio­mass growth. The intel­li­gent arran­ge­ment of the six­teen FLEX-PRO Series lumi­n­aires mini­mi­zes shadowing wit­hout com­pro­mi­sing the 

avai­la­bi­li­ty and com­ple­men­ta­ry syn­er­gy of natu­ral day­light. The final instal­la­ti­on and ener­gy use of the FLEX-PRO Series are also cha­rac­te­ri­zed by effi­ci­en­cy. The com­pact design as well as the use of pro­tec­ti­ve extra-low vol­ta­ge to sup­p­ly the light rods enable cost-effec­ti­ve, time-saving instal­la­ti­on on the cor­ro­si­on resistant sup­port struc­tu­re. In addi­ti­on, ener­gy effi­ci­en­cy and safe 24-hour ope­ra­ti­on of the sys­tem are gua­ran­teed. The dim­ma­ble sys­tem allows smart ope­ra­ti­on depen­ding on the growth stage of the algae and the day­light conditions.

The clo­se coope­ra­ti­on with SANSOL and the suc­cessful imple­men­ta­ti­on of the Flex-Pro Series LED lumi­n­aires gua­ran­tee the fol­lo­wing bene­fits for the Tur­ki­sh ope­ra­tor of the 33,000l Phyco-Flow™PBR plant:

• Enhan­ced bio­mass yield with opti­mal ener­gy demand.
• Bridging of sun­less days and night. The sys­tem can pro­vi­de light for up to 24 hours, depen­ding on the type of algae.
• Dura­bi­li­ty in indus­tri­al envi­ron­ments due to extre­me impact and emis­si­on protection.
• Dim­ma­ble design allows varia­ble adjus­t­ment in chan­ging wea­ther and thus ener­gy-effi­ci­ent opti­miza­ti­on of the amount of light.
• Bright­ness can be fle­xi­bly adjus­ted accor­ding to the growth stage of the algae.

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