Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology Department, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), C. P. 19060 ACF Centro Politécnico, Curitiba, PR, 81531-970, Brazil.
World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2020 Mar 4;36(3):42. doi: 10.1007/s11274-020-02819-0.
Photobioreactors (PBRs) are equipment of central importance for the massive cultivation of microalgae, providing controlled conditions for high cell productivity. There are a few popular PBR designs, with contrasting advantages and limitations, such as poor light distribution, mass transfer, or hydrodynamic behavior. Due to the environmental concerns in recent decades and the discovery of new, useful microalgal metabolites, the interest in finding alternatives to solve technological bottlenecks of PBRs has intensified. In this process, new geometries, materials, and modes of light supply were developed, generating a significant scientific and technological output, reported in papers and patents. We present a technological landscape analysis of photobioreactor design, focusing on improvements of the classical geometries and trends in industrial photobioreactors. The analysis of 412 patent documents showed a surge in innovation filing since 2005 and a reduction in the number of new documents along the last decade. The recent efforts in design improvement, the leading countries, institutes and companies that innovate, and the trends in PBR technology are presented and discussed.
光生物反应器（PBR）是大规模培养微藻的核心设备，可为高细胞生产率提供可控条件。有几种流行的 PBR 设计，具有不同的优缺点，例如光分布不良、传质或水动力行为。由于近几十年来的环境问题以及新的有用微藻代谢物的发现，人们对寻找替代方法来解决 PBR 技术瓶颈的兴趣日益浓厚。在此过程中，新的几何形状、材料和光照方式得到了发展，产生了大量的科学和技术成果，这些成果在论文和专利中有报道。我们对光生物反应器设计进行了技术景观分析，重点关注了经典几何形状的改进和工业光生物反应器的发展趋势。对 412 份专利文件的分析表明，自 2005 年以来，创新申请数量激增，而过去十年中新增文件数量有所减少。本文介绍并讨论了最近在设计改进方面的努力、领先的国家、研究所和创新公司，以及 PBR 技术的发展趋势。
