Measurement of light absorption and determination of the specific rate of light uptake in cultures of phototrophic microorganisms.

This article describes a novel method for the measurement of light absorption by cultures of phototrophic microorganisms. The rate of light absorption is calculated as the difference between the rate of light output from a culture containing cells and the rate of light output from a culture containing only growth medium. The specific rate of light uptake is calculated by dividing the rate of light absorption by the total biomass present in the culture. Application of the method to several case studies shows that light output from a culture varies widely depending on the absorption and scattering characteristics of the suspension.