Development and validation of a screening procedure of microalgae for biodiesel production: application to the genus of marine microalgae Nannochloropsis.

Nannochloropsis has emerged as a promising alga for biodiesel production. However, the genus consists of 6 species and hundreds of strains making strain selection a challenge. Furthermore, oil productivity is instrumental to economic viability of any algal strain for industrial production, which is dependent on growth rate and oil content. In most cases, these two parameters have been studied independently. Thus, the goal of this study is to provide a combined method for evaluating strain performance in specially designed photobioreactors together with an in-depth lipidomic analyses. The nine strains of Nannochloropsis tested showed considerable variations in productivity and lipidomics highlighting the importance of strain selection. Finally, Nannochloropsis gaditana CCMP527 and Nannochloropsis salina CCMP537 emerged as the two most promising strains, with an oil content of 37 and 27 dry wt% after 11-day nitrogen starvation, respectively, resulting in TAG productivity of 13×10(-3) and 18×10(-3) kg m(-3) d(-1), respectively.

[1]  A. Converti,et al.  EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND NITROGEN CONCENTRATION ON THE GROWTH AND LIPID CONTENT OF NANNOCHLOROPSIS OCULATA AND CHLORELLA VULGARIS FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION , 2009 .

[2]  Y. Li-Beisson,et al.  The Green Microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Has a Single ω-3 Fatty Acid Desaturase That Localizes to the Chloroplast and Impacts Both Plastidic and Extraplastidic Membrane Lipids1[C][W] , 2013, Plant Physiology.

[3]  J. Pruvost,et al.  Investigation of biomass and lipids production with Neochloris oleoabundans in photobioreactor. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[4]  D. J. Franklin,et al.  EVOLUTION OF AN ARTIFICIAL SEAWATER MEDIUM: IMPROVEMENTS IN ENRICHED SEAWATER, ARTIFICIAL WATER OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES , 2001 .

[5]  Iracema Andrade Nascimento,et al.  Screening Microalgae Strains for Biodiesel Production: Lipid Productivity and Estimation of Fuel Quality Based on Fatty Acids Profiles as Selective Criteria , 2012, BioEnergy Research.

[6]  Weiqi Wang,et al.  Nannochloropsis Genomes Reveal Evolution of Microalgal Oleaginous Traits , 2014, PLoS genetics.

[7]  Y. Li-Beisson,et al.  Oil accumulation in the model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: characterization, variability between common laboratory strains and relationship with starch reserves , 2011, BMC biotechnology.

[8]  David Jameson,et al.  Fluorescent measurement of microalgal neutral lipids. , 2007, Journal of microbiological methods.

[9]  R. Andersen,et al.  Phylogeny of the Eustigmatophyceae Based upon 18S rDNA, with Emphasis on Nannochloropsis. , 1998, Protist.

[10]  Jack Legrand,et al.  Influence of light absorption rate by Nannochloropsis oculata on triglyceride production during nitrogen starvation. , 2014, Bioresource technology.

[11]  René H Wijffels,et al.  The impact of nitrogen starvation on the dynamics of triacylglycerol accumulation in nine microalgae strains. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[12]  Ana Cristina Oliveira,et al.  Microalgae as a raw material for biofuels production , 2009, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.

[13]  Jean-François Cornet,et al.  Hydrodynamics influence on light conversion in photobioreactors: An energetically consistent analysis , 2008 .

[14]  G. Knothe.  Improving biodiesel fuel properties by modifying fatty ester composition , 2009 .

[15]  C. Lan,et al.  Biofuels from Microalgae , 2008, Biotechnology progress.

[16]  Robert P. van Hille,et al.  Lipid productivity, settling potential and fatty acid profile of 11 microalgal species grown under nitrogen replete and limited conditions , 2011, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[17]  Jean-François Cornet,et al.  Knowledge models for the engineering and optimization of photobioreactors , 2012 .

[18]  J. Pruvost,et al.  Investigation of fatty acids accumulation in Nannochloropsis oculata for biodiesel application. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[19]  D. Parry,et al.  Effect of light intensity on the proximate biochemical and fatty acid composition of Isochrysis sp. and Nannochloropsis oculata for use in tropical aquaculture , 1991, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[20]  M. Fawley,et al.  Observations on the diversity and ecology of freshwater Nannochloropsis (Eustigmatophyceae), with descriptions of new taxa. , 2007, Protist.

[21]  A. Richmond,et al.  Lipid and biomass production by the halotolerant microalga Nannochloropsis salina , 1987 .

[22]  C. Lan,et al.  Closed photobioreactors for production of microalgal biomasses. , 2012, Biotechnology advances.

[23]  F. Behrendt,et al.  Biomass productivity and productivity of fatty acids and amino acids of microalgae strains as key characteristics of suitability for biodiesel production , 2012, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[24]  G. Knothe.  Dependence of biodiesel fuel properties on the structure of fatty acid alkyl esters , 2005 .

[25]  C. Walter,et al.  Microalgal Biotechnology: Potential and Production , 2012 .

[26]  C. Soccol,et al.  Screening of microalgae with potential for biodiesel production and nutrient removal from treated domestic sewage , 2011 .

[27]  S. Sym,et al.  Microalgal fatty acid composition: implications for biodiesel quality , 2012, Journal of Applied Phycology.

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

[29]  D. Martens,et al.  Effect of light intensity, pH, and temperature on triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation induced by nitrogen starvation in Scenedesmus obliquus. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[30]  A. H. Scragg,et al.  Growth of microalgae with increased calorific values in a tubular bioreactor , 2002 .

[31]  L. Rodolfi,et al.  Microalgae for oil: Strain selection, induction of lipid synthesis and outdoor mass cultivation in a low‐cost photobioreactor , 2009, Biotechnology and bioengineering.