Photobioreactors: An introduction

Photobioreactors (PBRs) are closed structures that are locked off from the outside environment and have no possible exchange of gases or pollutants within it. PBRs have the advantage of minimizing the toxicity while providing improved conditions for microalgae growth in terms of pH, temperature, light, and CO2 concentration along with high biomass concentrations. This introductive chapter gives a brief idea about the different types of PBRs, the factors affecting productivity of desired products, modeling and simulation of PBRs followed by the applications of PBRs including the production of biohydrogen, biopolymers, cyanobacteria, and treatment of wastewater and effluent. This chapter therefore serves to provide an overview of the contents of the chapters to follow and would be beneficial for the readers to narrow down their topic of interest.