The key parameters of the inner structure of a cylindrical airlift bioreactor, including the ratio of the cross-section area of the downcomer to the cross-section area of the riser, clearance from the upper edge of the draft tube to the water level, and clearance from the low edge of the draft tube to the bottom of the reactor, significantly affected the biomass production of Botryococcus braunii. In order to achieve high algal cultivation performance, the optimal structural parameters of the bioreactor were determined using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The simulated results were validated by experimental data collected from the microalgal cultures in both 2 and 40-L airlift bioreactors. The CFD model developed in this study provides a powerful means for optimizing bioreactor design and scale-up without the need to perform numerous time-consuming bioreactor experiments. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.