Photobioreactors costs

Metis161 reported a preliminary cost study on a 500-L scaled-up modular photobioreactor, and outlined the following cost distribution for the unit based on operating it for a period of 6 months photobioreactor materials, 45% mineral nutrients, 39% labor 4% water supply, 4% land lease, 2% power, 1% and miscellaneous expenses, 5%. He reported the actual cost of the materials for the pilot photobioreactor unit as 0.75 m 2, but the material used and the lifetime of the unit was not stated. This cost is much lower that the often quoted estimates of up to 100 per meter square using glass covered structures. Glass does not appear to be a realistic material to use in a commercial photobioreactor system because of both initial and replacement costs. 

A comprehensive study, undertaken by Amos8 for the US Department of Energy, concluded that the cost of photobioreactors would have to be brought down to 10/m2 or less to meet the DOE goal of 2.60 per kg of H2. Ghirardi and Amos76 suggested that new, UV-resistant, transparent materials that can contain H2 gas at a... 

Many operating costs are the same as those for any conventional chemical production process, such as operating labor, raw materials, and equipment maintenance. However, some expenses, such as cleaning optical surfaces or preventing biofilm growth on the photobioreactor surfaces, are unique to photobiological processes. 

For a stand-alone photobiological (sulfur-deprived, algal) H2-production facility producing 300 kg/day of H2, the total capital investment was estimated to be 5 million with a H2 selling price of approximately 14/kg of hydrogen and a 15% return on investment. This system assumed moderate improvements in the H2-production rate and included PSA purification with high-pressure compressed H2 storage. The total photobioreactor area was 110,000 m with a 10-cm pond depth, 0.2 g/1 cell concentration, and 10/m reactor cost. ... 

Tredicii, M. R., Zittelli, G. C. And Benemann, J. R. (1998). A tubular internal gas exchange photobioreactor for biological hydrogen production Preliminary cost analysis in Biohydrogen , Zaborsky et al (Eds.), Plenum Press, pp. 391-402. 

RodoM L, ZitteUi GC, Bassi N, et al Microalgae for oil strain selection, induction of hpid synthesis and outdoor mass cultivation in a low-cost photobioreactor, Biotechnol Bioeng 102(1) 100-112, 2009. 

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