A fiber-optic sensor for accurately monitoring biofilm growth in a hydrogen production photobioreactor.
A new simple fiber-optic evanescent wave sensor was created to accurately monitor the growth and hydrogen production performance of biofilms. The proposed sensor consists of two probes (i.e., a sensor and reference probe), using the etched fibers with an appropriate surface roughness to improve its sensitivity. The sensor probe measures the biofilm growth and change of liquid-phase concentration inside the biofilm. The reference probe is coated with a hydrophilic polytetrafluoroethylene membrane to separate the liquids from photosynthetic bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris CQK 01 and to measure the liquid concentration. We also developed a model to demonstrate the accuracy of the measurement. The biofilm measurement was calibrated using an Olympus microscope. A linear relationship was obtained for the biofilm thickness range from 0 to 120 μm with a synthetic medium under continuous supply to the bioreactor. The highest level of hydrogen production rate occurred at a thickness of 115 μm.
Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Chongqing University , Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400030, China.
Nianbing
N
Zhong
Qiang
Q
Liao
Xun
X
Zhu
Rong
R
Chen
D000465:Algorithms; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012241:Rhodopseudomonas; D058615:Synthetic Biology
D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D006859:Hydrogen