From: 2025-04-02 10:30 to 11:30
Place: Seminar Room M 3170-73 at Dept. of Automatic Control, LTH
Contact: kristian [dot] soltesz [at] control [dot] lth [dot] se

Date & Time: April 2nd, 10:30-11:30
Location: Seminar Room M 3170-73 at Dept. of Automatic Control, LTH
Speaker: José Luis Guzmán, University of Almería
Title: Microalgae Production Systems: A Sustainable Solution for Societal Challenges and A Playground for Control Engineers

Abstract: In the 21st century, society faces pressing sustainability challenges, including climate change, resource depletion, and environmental degradation. Traditional approaches to address these issues—such as reducing fossil fuel consumption, improving energy efficiency, and enforcing stricter environmental regulations—play a crucial role but may fall short of meeting the increasing demand for sustainable solutions. In this context, microalgae emerge as a promising alternative due to their unique ability to produce valuable biomass using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and minimal resources.
Microalgae represent a versatile and sustainable resource with applications ranging from biofuel production and bioremediation to pharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements. Their production process capitalizes on photosynthesis, converting sunlight, carbon dioxide, and nutrients—often found in wastewater or agricultural effluents—into valuable biomass. This dual functionality not only supports biomass production but also contributes to environmental remediation.
Microalgae production at industry scale mainly occur in open systems, such as raceway reactors. This preference stems from their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and scalability. However, achieving optimal microalgae growth requires precise control of various culture conditions, including temperature, light intensity, nutrient concentration, dissolved oxygen levels, and pH. Developing control algorithms for raceway reactors is particularly challenging due to the complex interplay of these factors, all of which are interdependent. Moreover, the biological nature of microalgae adds another layer of complexity. Growth rates, metabolic responses, and environmental susceptibilities can vary significantly between strains, making it difficult to create accurate and robust predictive models. These challenges highlight the need for hierarchical control strategies capable of managing these changing dynamics.
At the University of Almería, the Automatic Control, Mechatronics and Robotics (ARM) research group has over 20 years of research and experience in developing modeling, control, and optimization methods for microalgae production systems at industrial scale. This presentation will briefly summarize the main contributions and the ongoing research projects. 

Bio: José Luis Guzmán was born in Almería, Spain, March 20, 1979. He received the Computer Science Engineering degree and the Ph.D. degree in Control Engineering from the University of Almería, Spain, in 2002 and 2006, respectively. He started working at the University of Almería in 2001 with a scholarship and since then he has been linked to the University. Currently, he is Full Professor of automatic control and system engineering with the University of Almería, where he also belongs to the Automatic Control, Robotics and Mechatronics research group and CIESOL research center. His research interests are focused on the fields of PID control, feedforward tuning rules, MPC techniques, and robust control with applications to biotechnology, solar plants, and agricultural processes. Moreover, he is very active in research on teaching/learning methodologies/technologies on control education.