Outdoor turbidostat culture of the marine microalga Tetraselmis sp.

Abstract

Abstract. Biomass productivity, photosynthetic efficiency and fatty acid profiles of the marine microalga Tetraselmis sp. in a turbidostat culture system using an outdoor photobioreactor are described. The maximum productivity depended on the units in which it was expressed; it reached 5·41 × 10−3 g/l/h in volumetric units, and 7·26g/m2/day in surface units, the former at the smallest culture depth (0·12m) and the latter at the greatest culture depth (0·25 m). Data from the experiments were adjusted to an equation for light limitation. The comparison of fatty acid composition at both depths showed that biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), was favoured when available light was low (0·17 m). Moreover, fatty acid 16:0 seemed to be an indicator of the type of limitation in the culture, i.e. nutrient or light limitation.

Turbidostat operation of outdoor pilot-scale photobioreactors

“…The effect of biomass concentrations on the productivity of different outdoor photobioreactors was shown in model simulations by different authors [15][16][17]. However, applying a fixed biomass concentration under outdoor production conditions has only been investigated by a limited number of authors [18,19]. Michels et al, investigated the effect of biomass concentration on the productivity of Tetraselmis suecica; a biomass concentration of 0.7 g L − 1 resulted in the highest productivity and biomass yield.…”

The influence of bio-optical properties of Emiliania huxleyi and Tetraselmis sp. on biomass and lipid production when exposed to different light spectra and intensities of an adjustable LED array and standard light sources

“…In this study, we contrast the bio-optical properties of E. huxleyi, which does not readily photoinhibit, to those of the green algae Tetraselmis sp., a species used for many biofuel studies [27][28][29][30][31]. Both species produce a suite of photosynthetic pigments (PSP) and photoprotective pigments (PPP) that can exploit different wavelengths in the visible light spectrum.…”

Outdoor production of microalgae

“…The effect of biomass concentrations on the productivity of different outdoor photobioreactors was shown in model simulations by different authors [24,29,70] [ 71,72]. However, applying a fixed biomass concentration under outdoor production conditions has only been investigated by a limited number of authors [51,73]. Michels et al, investigated the effect of biomass concentration on the productivity of Tetraselmis suecica; a biomass concentration of 0.7 g L -1 resulted in the highest productivity and biomass yield.…”