A major concern in the production of algae by LED light is the power consumption it involves. One possibility to reduce this is by using super fast flashing with high frequencies (> 1 kHz). This way the supply and the processing of light by the photosynthetic system of the algae is more in sync, and this could result in the same yield with less light. The research is carried out in small 1 liter reactors, where for example the light intensity, the duty cycle (percentage of time that the light is on) and flash frequency can be varied. Besides flashing, the same reactors are used to look at the effect of light spectrum (proportion of red and blue light) on the growth of algae and the content of certain pigments, such as astaxanthin.
For further information please contact Wim van Dijk, tel.: 0320- 291543.
