| Abstract: | The photosynthetic efficiency (PE) of a growing algal culture was determined from the growth yield (Y), that is, biomass produced/light absorbed and the calorific value of the biomass (k); PE = kY. To obtain the maximum photosynthetic efficiency the algae were grown in light-limited chemostat cultures in urea-mineral salts media plus CO2 and steady-states were obtained at different specific growth rates. With a given light input the biomass output rate was independent of the specific growth rate up to at least 70% of the maximum specific growth rate. The photosynthetic efficiency was independent of the incident light intensity over the range studied, 5.3–21.3 W m?2. The light source had a spectral range of 400–700 nm and its mean wavelength was assumed to be 575 nm. The values of the maximum growth yields (YG , g dry weight kJ?1) were 0.0153 for the Sorokin Chlorella strain 211/8k and 0.0206 for a newly selected mixed culture MA003 which consisted of an alga and three species of heterotrophic bacteria. The maintenance energy (m) of the mixed culture MA003 was in the range 0–0.32 kJ g?1 dry weight h?1 and the specific maintenance rate (mYG ) was in the range 0–0.0066 h?1. In Chlorella strain 211/8k the maximum PE was 34.7% which corresponds to a quantum demand (n) of 6.6 per O2 molecule evolved. In the mixed culture MA003 the maximum PE was 46.8% with 95% confidence limits, 42.7–51.5. This PE value corresponds to a quantum demand (n) of 4.8 per O2 molecule evolved. These results call in question the current model of photosynthesis which predicts that the maximum PE with absorbed light of mean wavelength 575 nm should not exceed 29% and the minimum quantum demand, n = 8. From our results with culture MA003 it is deduced that the maximum practicable storage of total solar energy by algal biomass growth in vitro is 18%. |
