Probable cause of damage to the panel of microalgae bioreactor building façade: Hypothetical evaluation

Abstract Having a noticeable role in CO 2 sequestration and O 2 production, microalgae as precious sources of the third-generation biofuel, offer various advantages for energy efficient architecture. Although biofuel production from microalgae biomass has a considerable research background, integrating microalgae culture system with building facade is in its infancy. It is mainly due to the fact that there is only one real building named BIQ house adopting the bioreactor facade technology constructed in Germany, 2013. Hence, there are various challenges associated with this newly emerged technology. This paper aims to detect and estimate the probable causes of damage to microalgae photobioreactor panels integrated with building facade known as SolarLeaf. In order to realize the paper key objective, by comprehensively studying the literature review, surveying and interviewing with the experts, the factors causing damage to bioreactors were recognized and categorized. Based on the results, the main damages are classified as internal and external. Internal causes include bio/chemical and structural factors, while external ones involve climatic and operational/constructional ones. These are the fundamental damage categories of microalgae facade systems that architects and engineers should get familiar with in order to meet and consider the defects developed in the bioreactor panel structure during the design and construction process.