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Cited by 142Algal biology and biofuel productionMicrobial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionAquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics

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Effective cultivation of microalgae for biofuel production: a pilot-scale evaluation of a novel oleaginous microalga Graesiella sp. WBG-1

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Wen, Xiaobin, Du, Kui, Wang, Zhongjie, Peng, Xinan, Luo, Liming, Tao, Huanping, Xu, Yan, Zhang, Dan, Geng, Yahong, Li, Yeguang·2016·Biotechnology for Biofuels
DOI 10.1186/s13068-016-0541-yPMC PMC4906892
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Commercial production of microalgal biodiesel is not yet economically viable, largely because of low storage lipid yield in microalgae mass cultivation. Selection of lipid-rich microalgae, thus, becomes one of the key research topics for microalgal biodiesel production. However, the laboratory screening protocols alone cannot predict the ability of the strains to dominate and perform in outdoor ponds. Comprehensive assessment of microalgae species should be performed not only under the laboratory conditions, but also in the fields. RESULTS: Laboratory investigations using a bubbled column photobioreactor indicated the microalga Graesiella sp. WBG-1 to be the most productive species among the 63 Chlorophyta strains. In a 10 L reactor, mimicking the industrial circular pond, Graesiella sp. WBG-1 produced 12.03 g biomass m(-2) day(-1) and 5.44 g lipids (45.23 % DW) m(-2) day(-1) under 15 mol m(-2) day(-1) artificial light irradiations. The lipid content decreased to ~34 % DW when the microalga was cultured in 30 L tank PBR under natural solar irradiations, but the decline of lipid content with scaling up was the minimum among the tested strains. Based on these results, the microalga was further tested for its lipid production and culture competitiveness using a pilot-scale raceway pond (200 m(2) illuminated area, culture volume 40,000 L). Consequently, Graesiella sp. WBG-1 maintained a high lipid content (33.4 % DW), of which ~90 % was storage TAGs. Results from the outdoor experiments indicated the nice adaptability of the Graesiella sp. WBG-1 to strong and fluctuating natural solar irradiance and temperature, and also demonstrated several other features, such as large cell size (easy for harvest and resistant to swallow by protozoa) and tolerance to high culture pH (helpful to CO2 fixation). CONCLUSIONS: Graesiella sp. WBG-1 was a promising strain capable of accumulating large amount of storage lipid under nature solar irradiance and temperature. The high lipid content of 33.4 % DW was achieved for the first time in pilot-scale raceway pond. The results also provide evidence for the feasibility of using low-cost raceway pond for autotrophic cultivation of microalgae for biodiesel production.

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Fig. 1 Effects of bicarbonate (a) and nitrate (b) on cell growth (open triangle) and lipid accumulation (filled triangle)
Fig. 1 Effects of bicarbonate (a) and nitrate (b) on cell growth (open triangle) and lipid accumulation (filled triangle)CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 Microalgal growth and biomass productivity in small-scale reactor. a Cultivation in 10 L laboratory circular pond; b cultivation in 30 L outdoor tank PBR in June 2012; and c cultivation in 30 L outdoor tank PBR in July 2012. Time evolution of biomass concentrations and biomass productivities are indicated by line and column, respectively. The areal biomass concentration (C biomass, g m−2) was used in all outdoor experiments
Fig. 2 Microalgal growth and biomass productivity in small-scale reactor. a Cultivation in 10 L laboratory circular pond; b cultivation in 30 L outdoor tank PBR in June 2012; and c cultivation in 30 L outdoor tank PBR in July 2012. Time evolution of biomass concentrations and biomass productivities are indicated by line and column, respectively. The areal biomass concentration (C biomass, g m−2) was used in all outdoor experimentsCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 3 Cultivation of Graesiella sp. WBG-1 in 200 m2 raceway pond. Changes in culture color and morphology of the cells during cultivation were shown. Intracellular lipid bodies were stained using Nile Red (yellow) and auto-fluorescence of chloroplasts is seen in red. Scale bar 10 µm
Fig. 3 Cultivation of Graesiella sp. WBG-1 in 200 m2 raceway pond. Changes in culture color and morphology of the cells during cultivation were shown. Intracellular lipid bodies were stained using Nile Red (yellow) and auto-fluorescence of chloroplasts is seen in red. Scale bar 10 µmCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 4 Time evolution of biomass concentration (C biomass, open square), biomass productivity (P biomass, filled square), lipid content (C lipid, open triangle), lipid productivity (P lipid, filled triangle), and natural light intensity (I av) during the outdoor raceway cultivation (June 2013)
Fig. 4 Time evolution of biomass concentration (C biomass, open square), biomass productivity (P biomass, filled square), lipid content (C lipid, open triangle), lipid productivity (P lipid, filled triangle), and natural light intensity (I av) during the outdoor raceway cultivation (June 2013)CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 5 Biochemical compositions (a) and fatty acid profiles (b) of Graesiella sp. WBG-1 in 200 m2 raceway cultivation. Carbohydrate, protein, and lipid at the 4th day (open column) and 15th day (filled column) are denoted with C., P., and L., respectively. Arrows indicate TAGs content on dry biomass bases (% DW)
Fig. 5 Biochemical compositions (a) and fatty acid profiles (b) of Graesiella sp. WBG-1 in 200 m2 raceway cultivation. Carbohydrate, protein, and lipid at the 4th day (open column) and 15th day (filled column) are denoted with C., P., and L., respectively. Arrows indicate TAGs content on dry biomass bases (% DW)CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 6 Lipid content (C lipid, filled triangle) and biomass-specific light availability (I biomass, open triangle) as functions of nitrate concentration
Fig. 6 Lipid content (C lipid, filled triangle) and biomass-specific light availability (I biomass, open triangle) as functions of nitrate concentrationCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 7 Sedimentation of Graesiella sp. WBG-1 cells over night. The homogeneous cell suspension (left) was kept still in a glass cylinder and over 98 % of biomass sedimented to the bottom after about 8 h (right)
Fig. 7 Sedimentation of Graesiella sp. WBG-1 cells over night. The homogeneous cell suspension (left) was kept still in a glass cylinder and over 98 % of biomass sedimented to the bottom after about 8 h (right)CC BY · PubMed Central

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Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Wen XB, Liang F, Geng YH, Li YG. Two-stage characteristics of lipid production in batch culture of two green microalgae. Fresen Environ Bull. 2014;23:2253–8.
  2. Zhang D, Zhu XY, Wen XB, Geng YH, Li YG. Studies on equilibrium pH values of microalgal medium. Acta Hydrobiol Sin. 2014;3:401–6 (in Chinese with english abstract).
  3. Li YG, Hu HJ, Gong XM. Studies on the mechanism of pH value change and carbon conversion ratio of Spirulina media. Chin J Biotechnol. 1996;12:242–8 (in Chinese with english abstract).

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Metadata

Authors
Wen, X., Du, K., Wang, Z., Peng, X., Luo, L., Tao, H., Xu, Y., Zhang, D., Geng, Y., & Li, Y.
Affiliations
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • Baylor College of Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Li, Yeguang
ORCID
Venue
Biotechnology for Biofuels
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-06-13
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
123-123
ISSN
1754-6834 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s13068-016-0541-y
PMC
PMC4906892
OpenAlex
W2429150225
Cited by
142
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 1
FWCI
3.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Biotechnology for Biofuels (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2012FY112900, 2013AA065805)
  • China Petrochemical Corporation (210080, 215104)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
Keywords
oleaginous microalgae, microalgae biodiesel, microalgal lipid production, pilot-scale cultivation, Chlorophyta, photobioreactors, strain screening, cell size, pH tolerance, CO2 fixation, autotrophic cultivation

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