Abstract
Microalgae are considered as a promising feedstock for biomass production. The selection of the most suitable species is based on several key parameters such as lipid and fatty acid productivity. In the present study, the growth of different microalgae strains was examined in freshwater media for photoautotrophs suited for large-scale applications to identify the most suitable medium for each species. In the optimal medium, Scenedesmus obliquus showed the highest biomass productivity measured as increase of cell dry weight (0.25 g cellu dry weight (CDW) L−1 day−1), while Botryococcus braunii showed the highest lipid and total fatty acid content (430 and 270 mg g−1 CDW, respectively) among the tested species. Regarding lipid and total fatty acid productivity, S. obliquus was the most lipid and total fatty acid productive strain with 41 and 18 mg L−1 day−1 during the exponential phase, respectively. Additionally, the proportion of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids increased with duration of the incubation in S. obliquus, while polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased. These results nominate S. obliquus as a promising microalga in order to serve as a feedstock for renewable energy production.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Sabine Beckmann (Institute for Biogeochemistry and Marine Chemistry, University of Hamburg) for assistance with the GCMS analysis and Sigrid Mörke (Department of Cell Biology and Phycology, University of Hamburg) for her excellent expert technical assistance. Thanks also for Dr. Martin Kerner (SSC GmbH) for his contribution in writing the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen “Otto von Guericke” e. V. (KF2353701SB9 to D. H.) and by joint grants from Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst in a German Egyptian Research Long-Term Scholarship program (to A. A.).
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Abomohra, A.EF., Wagner, M., El-Sheekh, M. et al. Lipid and total fatty acid productivity in photoautotrophic fresh water microalgae: screening studies towards biodiesel production. J Appl Phycol 25, 931–936 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9917-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9917-y