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Effects of various abiotic factors on biomass growth and lipid yield of Chlorella minutissima for sustainable biodiesel production

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Abstract

In this study, effects of different abiotic factors were studied on biomass and lipid yield of green microalga Chlorella minutissima (C. minutissima) Various concentrations of abiotic factors like nitrogen, phosphorus, glucose, iron, zinc, different values of pH, temperature, light intensity and different photoperiods were observed on the biomass growth and lipid yield of C. minutissima cultivated with modified CHU-13 medium. Initially, three cultivation media namely, Bold’s basal medium (BBM), modified CHU-13 and blue-green-11 (BG-11) were used to culture C. minutissima in batch mode. Microalga cultivated with modified CHU-13 medium resulted in maximum biomass and lipid yield of 970 ± 0.21 and 356.63 ± 0.51 mg/L, respectively. To maximize biomass and lipid yield of microalga further, it was cultivated with modified CHU-13 medium and variation of above mentioned abiotic factors was done. Different biomass and lipid yields were achieved for different abiotic factors varied. Highest biomass of 1840.49 ± 0.62 mg/L was achieved with 12 g of glucose containing medium and highest lipid yield of 579.86 ± 0.76 mg/L was achieved with 0.3 g of nitrogen containing medium. GC-MS analysis of biodiesel obtained from C. minutissima biomass cultivated with modified CHU-13 medium shown the presence of C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, C20:0, C20:1 and C22:0. Properties of biodiesel obtained from C. minutissima were found in compliance with ASTM-6751-02 and European biodiesel standards EN14214. These results suggest that C. minutissima can be used as a potential biodiesel feedstock for microalgal biodiesel production.

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Acknowledgements

The first and corresponding author is thankful to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, India, for providing financial support and Department of Polymer and Process Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (Saharanpur Campus) to accomplish this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioenergy Research Laboratory, Department of Polymer and Process Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (Saharanpur Campus), Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 247001, India

    Rajesh Chandra,  Amit & Uttam Kumar Ghosh

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  1. Rajesh Chandra
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  2. Amit
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  3. Uttam Kumar Ghosh
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Correspondence to Rajesh Chandra.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Highlights

• Initially modified CHU-13 medium produced highest biomass and lipid yield in C. minutissima.

• Highest biomass and lipid yields of 1840.49 ± 0.62 and 579.86 ± 0.76 mg/L were achieved with 12 g of glucose and 3 g of nitrogen containing CHU-13 medium.

• Cultivation temperature of 27 ± 2 °C and pH 8 were found optimal for higher biomass yield.

• Zinc concentration beyond 100 mg/L resulted in reduced biomass growth.

• Biodiesel quality was found in compliance with international fuel standards.

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Chandra, R., Amit & Ghosh, U.K. Effects of various abiotic factors on biomass growth and lipid yield of Chlorella minutissima for sustainable biodiesel production. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 3848–3861 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3696-1

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