An enclosed air-lift photobioreactor (ALPBR) is considered an efficient lab-scale bioreactor for microalgae cell growth and lipid biosynthesis. However, fluid-induced shear stress and mixing are two main factors that affect physiological metabolism in microalgal cell cultures. Herein, a 50-L ALPBR after being designed and manufactured was evaluated for microalgal suspension culture. Moreover, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was used to characterize the hydrodynamics of ALPBR. Specifically, two model microalgae species Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorella protothecoides...