Effect of inorganic carbon on photoautotrophic growth of microalga Chlorococcum littorale

The growth rate of a highly CO2‐tolerant green alga, Chlorococcum littorale, was investigated in semi‐batch cultures at a temperature of 22°C, a light intensity of 170 μmol‐photon m−2 s−1 and CO2 concentrations ranging from 1 to 50% (v/v) at atmospheric pressure. In the experiments, solutions were bubbled with CO2 and N2 gas mixtures to adjust CO2 concentrations to minimize the influence of O2. Growth rate, which was defined in terms of a specific growth rate μ, decreased with increasing CO2 concentration at the conditions studied. The inhibition of growth by CO2 gas could be attributed to the concentration of inorganic carbon in the culture medium. A growth model is proposed where key assumptions are the formation of bicarbonate ion HCO  3− as substrate for algal growth and equilibrium between CO2 inhibitor. The proposed growth model based on the Monod equation agreed with the experimental data to within 5% and provides better correlation than the conventional inhibition model, especially in the high CO2 concentration region. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009

[1]  Y. Chisti.  Biodiesel from microalgae. , 2007, Biotechnology advances.

[2]  J. A. Campo,et al.  Outdoor cultivation of microalgae for carotenoid production: current state and perspectives , 2007, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[3]  F. Millero,et al.  Dissociation constants of carbonic acid in seawater as a function of salinity and temperature , 2006 .

[4]  M. Goto,et al.  Extraction of Astaxanthin from Haematococcus p luvialis Using Supercritical CO 2 and Ethanol as Entrainer , 2006 .

[5]  X. Miao,et al.  Biodiesel production from heterotrophic microalgal oil. , 2006, Bioresource technology.

[6]  Zhenhao Duan,et al.  An improved model for the calculation of CO2 solubility in aqueous solutions containing Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, and SO42− , 2006 .

[7]  P. Spolaore,et al.  Commercial applications of microalgae. , 2006, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[8]  S. Miyachi,et al.  Selection of microalgal growth model for describing specific growth rate-light response using extended information criterion. , 2005, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[9]  S. Purton,et al.  Microalgae as bioreactors , 2005, Plant Cell Reports.

[10]  J. Moroney,et al.  The carbonic anhydrase gene families of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , 2005 .

[11]  Lihong Yue,et al.  Isolation and determination of cultural characteristics of a new highly CO2 tolerant fresh water microalgae , 2005 .

[12]  F. Xavier Malcata,et al.  Optimization of ω-3 fatty acid production by microalgae: crossover effects of CO2 and light intensity under batch and continuous cultivation modes , 2005, Marine Biotechnology.

[13]  C. Jiménez,et al.  Air bubbling results in carbon loss during microalgal cultivation in bicarbonate-enriched media: experimental data and process modeling , 2005 .

[14]  H. Stabenau,et al.  Glycolate metabolism in green algae , 2005 .

[15]  K. Gao,et al.  EFFECTS OF LOWERING TEMPERATURE DURING CULTURE ON THE PRODUCTION OF POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS IN THE MARINE DIATOM PHAEODACTYLUM TRICORNUTUM (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) 1 , 2004 .

[16]  Yen-Hui Lin,et al.  Kinetics of inorganic carbon utilization by microalgal biofilm in a flat plate photoreactor. , 2003, Chemosphere.

[17]  Miguel Olaizola,et al.  Commercial development of microalgal biotechnology: from the test tube to the marketplace. , 2003, Biomolecular engineering.

[18]  Zhenhao Duan,et al.  An improved model calculating CO2 solubility in pure water and aqueous NaCl solutions from 273 to 533 K and from 0 to 2000 bar , 2003 .

[19]  O. Pulz,et al.  Photobioreactors: production systems for phototrophic microorganisms , 2001, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[20]  C. K. Tseng,et al.  Algal biotechnology industries and research activities in China , 2001, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[21]  Y. Ishida,et al.  A highly CO2‐tolerant diatom, Thalassiosira weissflogii H1, enriched from coastal sea, and its fatty acid composition , 2000 .

[22]  T. Minowa,et al.  A novel microalgal system for energy production with nitrogen cycling , 1999 .

[23]  Contreras,et al.  Interaction between CO2-mass transfer, light availability, and hydrodynamic stress in the growth of phaeodactylum tricornutum in a concentric tube airlift photobioreactor , 1998, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[24]  Q. Hu,et al.  Ultrahigh-cell-density culture of a marine green alga Chlorococcum littorale in a flat-plate photobioreactor , 1998, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[25]  F. Figueroa,et al.  Effects of light intensity, CO2 and nitrogen supply on lipid class composition of Dunaliella viridis , 1998, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[26]  M. Chihara,et al.  Chlorococcum littorale, a New Marine Green Coccoid Alga (Chlorococcales, Chlorophyceae) , 1994 .

[27]  Isao Karube,et al.  Tolerance of microalgae to high CO2 and high temperature , 1992 .

[28]  N. Ohmura,et al.  Isolation and determination of cultural characteristics of microalgae which functions under CO2 enriched atmosphere , 1992 .

[29]  John F. Andrews,et al.  A mathematical model for the continuous culture of microorganisms utilizing inhibitory substrates , 1968 .

[30]  J. Monod.  The Growth of Bacterial Cultures , 1949 .

[31]  B. Nobre,et al.  Functional food oil coloured by pigments extracted from microalgae with supercritical CO2 , 2007 .

[32]  K. Abe,et al.  Accumulation and antioxidant activity of secondary carotenoids in the aerial microalga Coelastrella striolata var. multistriata , 2007 .

[33]  E. J. Martínez de la Ossa,et al.  Supercritical fluid extraction of carotenoids and chlorophyll a from Synechococcus sp. , 2007 .

[34]  A. Carvalho,et al.  Microalgal Reactors: A Review of Enclosed System Designs and Performances , 2006, Biotechnology progress.

[35]  Mariela A. González,et al.  The effect of temperature and irradiance on the growth and carotenogenic capacity of seven strains of Dunaliella salina (Chlorophyta) cultivated under laboratory conditions. , 2005, Biological research.

[36]  R. Gong,et al.  Effects of nitrate concentration on growth and fatty acid composition of the marine microalga Pavlova viridis (prymnesiophyceae) , 2005 .

[37]  S. Miyachi,et al.  Microalgal studies for the 21st Century , 2004, Hydrobiologia.

[38]  A. Carvalho,et al.  Transfer of Carbon Dioxide within Cultures of Microalgae: Plain Bubbling versus Hollow‐Fiber Modules , 2001, Biotechnology progress.

[39]  S. Miyachi,et al.  Ethanol Production by Dark Fermentation in the Marine Green Alga, Chlorococcum littorale , 1998 .

[40]  M. Kodama,et al.  A new species of highly CO2-tolerant fast-growing marine microalga suitable for high-density culture , 1993 .