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Utilization of Organic Liquid Fertilizer in Microalgae Cultivation for Biodiesel Production

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Abstract

The utilization of organic liquid fertilizer PAL-1 as the culture medium of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris was investigated for the purpose of biodiesel production. Cell growth and lipid accumulation in PAL-1 were evaluated and compared with those in the artificial medium BG-11. Cells showed mixotrophic growth when utilizing the organic liquid fertilizer PAL-1. The rates of cell growth (0.143 d-1) and N consumption (14.9 mg/L/d) in PAL-1 were almost the same as those in BG-11, under the presence of 2% CO2-enriched aeration and light irradiation. Lipid synthesis was triggered in PAL-1 on day 4, when nitrogen was completely consumed, and the lipid content reached up to 48% thereafter. Lipid productivity could be enhanced using repeated-batch cultivation in which cells were exposed to N limitation repeatedly, and thus lipid synthesis was induced while maintaining a sufficiently high cell density.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a grant from the Marine Biotechnology Program (PJT200255, Development of Marine Microalgal Biofuel Production Technology) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea.

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  1. Department of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Myongji University, Yongin, 17058, Korea

    Nhat Minh Dang & Kisay Lee

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  1. Nhat Minh Dang
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  2. Kisay Lee
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Correspondence to Kisay Lee.

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Dang, N.M., Lee, K. Utilization of Organic Liquid Fertilizer in Microalgae Cultivation for Biodiesel Production. Biotechnol Bioproc E 23, 405–414 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12257-018-0081-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12257-018-0081-3

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