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Efficient conversion of solar energy to biomass and electricity

Overview of attention for article published in Aquatic Biosystems, June 2014
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Title
Efficient conversion of solar energy to biomass and electricity
Published in
Aquatic Biosystems, June 2014
DOI 10.1186/2046-9063-10-4
Pubmed ID
Authors

David Parlevliet, Navid Reza Moheimani

Abstract

The Earth receives around 1000 W.m(-2) of power from the Sun and only a fraction of this light energy is able to be converted to biomass (chemical energy) via the process of photosynthesis. Out of all photosynthetic organisms, microalgae, due to their fast growth rates and their ability to grow on non-arable land using saline water, have been identified as potential source of raw material for chemical energy production. Electrical energy can also be produced from this same solar resource via the use of photovoltaic modules. In this work we propose a novel method of combining both of these energy production processes to make full utilisation of the solar spectrum and increase the productivity of light-limited microalgae systems. These two methods of energy production would appear to compete for use of the same energy resource (sunlight) to produce either chemical or electrical energy. However, some groups of microalgae (i.e. Chlorophyta) only require the blue and red portions of the spectrum whereas photovoltaic devices can absorb strongly over the full range of visible light. This suggests that a combination of the two energy production systems would allow for a full utilization of the solar spectrum allowing both the production of chemical and electrical energy from the one facility making efficient use of available land and solar energy. In this work we propose to introduce a filter above the algae culture to modify the spectrum of light received by the algae and redirect parts of the spectrum to generate electricity. The electrical energy generated by this approach can then be directed to running ancillary systems or producing extra illumination for the growth of microalgae. We have modelled an approach whereby the productivity of light-limited microalgae systems can be improved by at least 4% through using an LED array to increase the total amount of illumination on the microalgae culture.

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The data shown below were collected from the profile of 1 X user who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 122 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 122 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 22 18%
Student > Ph. D. Student 21 17%
Student > Bachelor 15 12%
Researcher 10 8%
Student > Doctoral Student 9 7%
Other 20 16%
Unknown 25 20%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 24 20%
Engineering 23 19%
Environmental Science 12 10%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 8 7%
Chemical Engineering 8 7%
Other 16 13%
Unknown 31 25%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 July 2014.
All research outputs
#20,657,128
of 25,374,917 outputs
Outputs from Aquatic Biosystems
#60
of 74 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#178,230
of 243,406 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Aquatic Biosystems
#2
of 2 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,917 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 10th percentile – i.e., 10% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 74 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 9.3. This one is in the 9th percentile – i.e., 9% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 243,406 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 13th percentile – i.e., 13% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 2 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one.