Design and optimization of photo bioreactor for O2 regulation and control by system dynamics and computer simulation

In this paper, a valid kinetic model of photo bioreactor (PBR) used for highly-effective cultivation of blue algae, Spirulina platensis, was developed for fully describing the dynamic characteristics of O2 concentration, then a closed-loop PBR with Linear-Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) servo controller was established and optimized via digital simulation and dynamic response optimization, and the effectiveness of the closed-loop PBR was further tested and accredited by real-time simulation. The result showed that the closed-loop PBR could regulate and control the O2 concentration in its gas phase according to the reference with desired dynamic response performance, hence microalgae with unique characteristic could be selected as a powerful tool for O2 regulation and control whenever O2 concentration in Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS) deviates from the nominal level in emergencies, and greatly enhance safety and reliability of BLSS on space and ground missions.