Liquid marble – a high-yield micro-photobioreactor platform

Abstract

Liquid marbles are liquid droplets coated with micro/nano particles. Liquid marbles have been used as a micro reactor platform for various applications. This paper demonstrates the use of a transparent liquid marble as a micro-photobioreactor for microalgal culture, with the advantages of high light transmissivity and large surface area. We monitored the growth rate of Chlorella vulgaris in this platform and compared it with controls grown in conventional culture flasks. The results indicate that significant culture yield improvement was achieved. The liquid marble-based platform provides a 30-fold increase in maximum cell density. These results open up new possibilities for the liquid marble as a novel photo-microreactor platform for various applications.