Visualization for reduction of microalgae adhesion on a reactor wall due to a coating of oil.

Algae are often cultivated in closed system of photobioreactors. In the cultivation, algae cells grow to adhere on the wall surface of a reactor, which results in inhibiting photosynthesis of culture solution. This short paper visualizes the microalgae adhesion on the oil coated wall of a cultivation reactor. A remarkable finding is the fact that the coating of silicone oil could protect the wall surface from the microalgae adhesion. In particular, the coating of silicone oil with the kinematic viscosity larger than 20 [cSt] can be found to reduce the adhesion area on the reactor wall to less than half that on an uncoated reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]