The research platform consists of several growth cabinets with light and temperature control, a pilot plant-sized photobioreactor with a volume of ca. 500 l with an automatic controlling unit (tubular photobioreactor), pilot scale flow through centrifuge for harvesting, ICP-MS, GC MS, TOFs (in connection with LC and MS), flow cytometer equipped with sorting unit, LC, GC with FID/ECD, molecular biology facilities including PCRs, quantitative PCR, DGGE.
For instance in applied algology, the facility can be used e.g. to create a cost-effective and sustainable concept for the production and utilization of desired metabolites using industrial by-products and rejects as algal growth substrates as well as studies on utilization of sewage waters in energy-related algological studies. Besides laboratory-scale experiments, large-scale mesocosm experiments in situ conditions can be carried out in the lake nearby (distance between the lab and the lake shore ca. 500 m).
