Enhanced biomass productivity of microalgae Nannochloropsis sp. in an airlift photobioreactor using low-frequency flashing light with blue LED

Abstract

Microalgae Nannochloropsis sp. is a widely recognized renewable biodiesel feedstock. The ability of this microalgae to absorb CO₂ constitutes an added value toward reducing global warming. However, the process of optimizing its growth still involves many challenges. Photoinhibition, which takes places during microalgae cultivation when using continuous lighting, constitutes an unresolved problem. Therefore, the optimum light/dark cycle method is considered necessary. The experiments were conducted using a designed, tubular airlift photobioreactor and blue, energy-saving, light-emitting diode (LED) lights for the purpose of internal illumination. We observed that a 45:15 min (light:dark) cycle increased the production of Nannochloropsis sp. biomass significantly, with a cell density, wet weight, and lipid content of 17 × 10⁶ cell/ml, 7.11 g, and 10.1% dry weight, respectively. By using the blue LED lights, our designed, airlift photobioreactor increased cell growth by 70% compared to the growth of Nannochloropsis sp. in nature and produced 61 times higher lipid content compared to Nannochloropsis sp. that is exposed to natural light.

Keywords

Nannochloropsis sp. / Blue LED / Airlift photobioreactor / Low frequency

References

[1] Allen J, Unlu S, Demirel Y, Black P, Riekhof W. Integration of biology, ecology and engineering for sustainable algal-based biofuel and bioproduct biorefinery. Bioresources and Bioprocessing, 2018

[2] Anderson RA. Algal culturing techniques. J Chem Inf Model, 2005

[3] Aziz HA, Dianursanti D. Production of microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata biomass in a bubble column photobioreactor with integrated lighting through adjustment of light intensity and air flow rate. AIP Conf Proc, 2018

[4] Bligh EG, Dyer WJ. A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification. Can J Biochem Physiol, 1959

[5] Bothe H, Ferguson S, Newton WE. Biology of the Nitrogen Cycle. Biol Nitrogen Cycle, 2007

[6] Chen Y, Lee M. Double-power double-heterostructure light-emitting diodes in microalgae, spirulina platensis and nannochloropsis oculata, cultures. J Mar Sci Technol, 2012, 20(2): 233-236.

[7] Chisti Y. Biodiesel from microalgae., 2007, 25: 294-306.

[8] Chisti Y. Biodiesel from microalgae beats bioethanol. Trends Biotechnol, 2008

[9] Chiu S, Kao C, Tsai M, Ong S, Chen C, Lin C. Bioresource Technology Lipid accumulation and CO 2 utilization of Nannochloropsis oculata in response to CO 2 aeration. Biores Technol, 2009, 100(2): 833-838.

[10] Das P, Lei W, Sarah S, Philip J. Bioresource Technology Enhanced algae growth in both phototrophic and mixotrophic culture under blue light. Biores Technol, 2011, 102(4): 3883-3887.

[11] Guillard RRL, Sieracki MS. Counting Cells in Cultures with the Light Microscope. Algal Culturing Tech, 2005

[12] Huang Q, Jiang F, Wang L, Yang C. Design of Photobioreactors for Mass Cultivation of Photosynthetic Organisms. Engineering, 2017, 3(3): 318-329.

[13] Hulatt CJ, Thomas DN. Productivity, carbon dioxide uptake and net energy return of microalgal bubble column photobioreactors. Bioresour Technol, 2011

[14] Krzemińska I, Pawlik-Skowrońska B, Trzcińska M, Tys J. Influence of photoperiods on the growth rate and biomass productivity of green microalgae. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng, 2014

[15] Kulkarni MG, Dalai AK. Waste cooking oil - An economical source for biodiesel: a review. Ind Eng Chem Res, 2006

[16] Le Chevanton M, Garnier M, Lukomska E, Schreiber N, Cadoret JP, Saint-Jean B, Bougaran G. Effects of nitrogen limitation on Dunaliella sp.–Alteromonas sp. interactions: from mutualistic to competitive relationships. Frontiers in Marine Science, 2016

[17] Lee JY, Yoo C, Jun SY, Ahn CY, Oh HM. Comparison of several methods for effective lipid extraction from microalgae. Biores Technol, 2010

[18] Lu, X., Zhang, Q., Lu, M., Dou, X., Huang, C., Jia, J., & Ji, J. (2013). Effects of nitrogen sources on growth density, lipid yield and eicosapentaenoic acid of Nannochloropsis oculata. Shengwu Gongcheng Xuebao/Chinese Journal of Biotechnology

[19] Marrez DA, Cieślak A, Gawad R, Ebeid HM, Chrenková M, Gao M, Yanza YR, El-Sherbiny M, Szumacher-Strabel M. Effect of freshwater microalgae Nannochloropsis limnetica on the rumen fermentation in vitro. J Anim Feed Sci, 2017, 26(4): 359-364.

[20] Oo N, Su C, Kyaw T. Extraction And Determination Of Chlorophyll Content From Microalgae. International Journal of Advanced Research and Publications, 2017, 1(5): 298.

[21] Park KH, Lee CG. Effectiveness of flashing light for increasing photosynthetic efficiency of microalgal cultures over a critical cell density. Biotechnol Bioprocess Eng, 2001

[22] Rocha JMS, Garcia JEC, Henriques MHF. Growth aspects of the marine microalga Nannochloropsis gaditana. Biomol Eng, 2003

[23] Rodolfi L, Zittelli GC, Bassi N, Padovani G, Biondi N, Bonini G, Tredici MR. Microalgae for oil: strain selection, induction of lipid synthesis and outdoor mass cultivation in a low-cost photobioreactor. Biotechnol Bioeng, 2009

[24] Rubio Camacho F, García Camacho F, Fernández Sevilla JM, Chisti Y, Molina Grima E. A mechanistic model of photosynthesis in microalgae. Biotechnol Bioeng, 2003

[25] Sato T, Yamada D, Hirabayashi S. Development of virtual photobioreactor for microalgae culture considering turbulent flow and flashing light effect. Energy Convers Manage, 2010

[26] Silva HJ, Pirt SJ. Carbon dioxide inhibition of photosynthetic growth of chlorella. J Gen Microbiol, 1984

[27] Solovchenko A, Verschoor AM, Jablonowski ND, Nedbal L. Phosphorus from wastewater to crops: An alternative path involving microalgae. Biotechnol Adv, 2016

[28] Sudibyo H, Pradana YS, Samudra TT, Budiman A, Suyono EA. Study of Cultivation under Different Colors of Light and Growth Kinetic Study of cultivation under different colors of light and growth kinetic study of Chlorella zofingiensis Dönz for biofuel production. Energy Procedia, 2017, 105(June): 270-276.

[29] Taisir M, Teo CL, Idris A, Yusuf AM. Cultivation of Nannochloropsis sp. using narrow beam angle light emitting diode in an internally illuminated photobioreactor. Bioresour Bioprocess, 2016

[30] Vidt DJ (2016) Subterranean photobioreactors for commercial-industrial scale algal culture. Doctoral Dissertations. 2493. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations/2493

[31] Wagner L. Biodiesel from algae oil. Biol Sci, 2007

[32] Xu F, Hu HH, Cong W, Cai ZL, Ouyang F. Effects of air flow rate and CO₂ concentration on the growth of Nannochloropsis sp. and EPA accumulation in an airlift photobioreactor. Chinese Journal of Process Engineering., 2004, 4(5): 457-461.