Microalga Scenedesmus obliquus as a potential source for biodiesel production

Abstract

Biodiesel from microalgae seems to be the only renewable biofuel that has the potential to completely replace the petroleum-derived transport fuels. Therefore, improving lipid content of microalgal strains could be a cost-effective second generation feedstock for biodiesel production. Lipid accumulation in Scenedesmus obliquus was studied under various culture conditions. The most significant increase in lipid reached 43% of dry cell weight (dcw), which was recorded under N-deficiency (against 12.7% under control condition). Under P-deficiency and thiosulphate supplementation the lipid content also increased up to 30% (dcw). Application of response surface methodology in combination with central composite rotary design (CCRD) resulted in a lipid yield of 61.3% (against 58.3% obtained experimentally) at 0.04, 0.03, and 1.0 g l(-1) of nitrate, phosphate, and sodium thiosulphate, respectively for time culture of 8 days. Scenedesmus cells pre-grown in glucose (1.5%)-supplemented N 11 medium when subjected to the above optimized condition, the lipid accumulation was boosted up to 2.16 g l(-1), the value approximately 40-fold higher with respect to the control condition. The presence of palmitate and oleate as the major constituents makes S. obliquus biomass a suitable feedstock for biodiesel production.

Scenedesmus sp. NJ-1 isolated from Antarctica: a suitable renewable lipid source for biodiesel production

“…The significant decrease in GL and PL contents of the Phase II cells may be attributed to the long exposure to nitrogen starvation, which stimulated hydrolysis of GL and PL and converted these polar lipids into NL (Hu et al 2008b). In Scenedesmus obliquus, the highest lipid productivity was achieved by pre-culture in glucose-supplemented medium before it was transferred to the media deficient in nitrate and phosphate (Mandal and Mallick 2009).…”

“…For example, Scenedesmus, belonging to chlorophyceae, has been found to contain high content of lipids (Li et al 2011;Abou-Shanab et al 2011) and shows the potential to remove inorganic nutrients from waste water (Li et al 2010). In addition, Scenedesmus can accumulate large quantities of lipids under unfavorable environments or stress conditions such as nitrogen deficiency (Mandal and Mallick 2009). These properties reinforced this microalga as one of the most promising feedstocks for biodiesel production.…”

Lipid accumulation and growth of Chlorella zofingiensis in flat plate photobioreactors outdoors

“…High biomass concentration appears to be unfavorable for accumulating high lipid content in photoautotrophic cultivation because of selfshading that reduces light availability to each cells (Mandal and Mallick, 2009;Li et al, 2010). In order to enhance the lipid productivity of microalgae, a two-phase cultivation process was suggested: a nutrient-sufficient phase to cultivate high biomass concentration followed by a nutrient limitation phase to induce lipid accumulation (Rodolfi et al, 2009;Mandal and Mallick, 2009).…”

“…In order to enhance the lipid productivity of microalgae, a two-phase cultivation process was suggested: a nutrient-sufficient phase to cultivate high biomass concentration followed by a nutrient limitation phase to induce lipid accumulation (Rodolfi et al, 2009;Mandal and Mallick, 2009). Nevertheless, during the second phase, the lipid accumulation evidently influenced by the initial cell concentration (Table 2, Fig.…”

SÍNTESIS DE LÍPIDOS DE LA MICROALGA Nannochloropsis oculata PARA SU USO POTENCIAL EN LA PRODUCCIÓN DE BIODIÉSEL

“…Dichos organismos poseen tasas de conversión fotosintética más eficientes que las plantas y altos niveles de lípidos intracelulares que pueden utilizarse en la producción de biodiésel (Hossain et al 2008). Entre las microalgas capaces de producir altas concentraciones de lípidos se encuentran Nannochloropsis oculata con contenidos que varían de 31 a 68 % (Sánchez et al 2008), Scenedesmus obliquus entre 10 y 17 %, incluso hasta 43 % (Mandal y Mallick 2009), Dunaliella tertiolecta con cerca de 37 % y Chlorella vulgaris con un 28 y 32 % (Chacón et al 2004). …”