A newly developed flat panel airlift photobioreactor with a defined circulation path was tested for microalgal culture. The bioreactor exposed the cells to intermittent light to improve the efficiency of light utilization through the flashing-light effect. During batch cultures in the new photobioreactor, the biomass productivity of Chlorella vulgaris was 1.7 times greater than in a randomly mixed bubble column of identical dimension. A reduction in light path from 30 to 15 mm increased the biomass productivity by 2.5-fold. A maximum dry biomass productivity of 0.11 g l(-1) h(-1) was obtained at an artificial illumination of 980 mu E m(-2) s(-1).