Biomimetic light dilution using side-emitting optical fiber for enhancing the productivity of microalgae reactors

Photoautotrophic microbes present vast opportunities for sustainable lipid production, CO2 storage and green chemistry, for example, using microalgae beds to generate biofuels. A major challenge of microalgae cultivation and other photochemical reactors is the efficiency of light delivery. In order to break even on large scale, dedicated photon management will be required across all levels of reactor hierarchy – from the harvesting of light and its efficient injection and distribution inside of the reactor to the design of optical antenna and pathways of energy transfer on molecular scale. Here, we discuss a biomimetic approach for light dilution which enables homogeneous illumination of large reactor volumes with high optical density. We show that the immersion of side-emitting optical fiber within the reactor can enhance the fraction of illuminated volume by more than two orders of magnitude already at cell densities as low as ~5 104 ml−1. Using the green algae Haematococcus pluvialis as a model system, we demonstrate an increase in the rate of reproduction by up to 93%. Beyond micoralgae, the versatile properties of side-emitting fiber enable the injection and dilution of light with tailored spectral and temporal characteristics into virtually any reactor containment

Zeitsprünge. Forschungen zur Frühen Neuzeit

Studies in Early Modern History, Culture and Science: Since its foundation by Klaus Reichert in 1997, Zeitsprünge has offered a forum for interdisciplinary early modern research in Europe. The editors welcome contributions concerning the history of ideas, knowledge, science, literature, art, and culture that are historically systematic while pursuing questions that transcend their respective disciplinary boundaries. We welcome contributions that shed new light on their respective field of research by both daring to take 'tiger leaps into the past' (Walter Benjamin) and critically glancing into the present and the future. Publication languages are German, English, French, Italian and Spanish). Articles in other languages may be considered after consultation with the editors. Zeitsprünge publishes open issues and thematic volumes as well as, less commonly, editions and monographs. Starting in 2022, subscriptions will be available in print and online (campus license). Zeitsprünge uses double-blind peer review process for all submitted manuscripts