Hou Yaoqi, Hu Zhan, Li Pengcheng, Wang Dantong, Chen Danqing, Wang Yi, Wei Yizhen, Kitamura Yutaka, Song Chunfeng
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Indoor Air Environmental Quality Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, PR China.
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
Bioresour Technol. 2025 Nov;435:132933. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2025.132933. Epub 2025 Jul 1.
An integrated photobioreactor for simultaneous carbon capture and utilization was developed by coupling non-immersed attached cultivation with CO absorption-microalgae conversion (CAMC) system. Polyester porous cotton, mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane and Chlorella L166 were screened as the optimal candidates. Compared with traditional suspended cultivation, attached cultivation significantly increased biomass yield and carbon fixation capacity by 326.6% and 371.2%, respectively. Carbon flow predominantly shifts toward lipid synthesis during bioconversion. Transcriptomics revealed that adaptive CO concentrating mechanism (CCM) such as C-dicarboxylic acid cycle and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathways might be partially activated by attached cultivation for carbon fixation. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to C and CAM pathways, such as pckA, ppc, ppdK, MDH2, GOT2 and GPT were significantly up-regulated. This study demonstrated efficient bio-integrated carbon capture and utilization through attached cultivation, enhancing bicarbonate assimilation and direct CO capture from the atmosphere, while enabling cost-effective conversion in algae-based biorefineries.
