High photosynthetic productivity of green microalga Chlorella sorokiniana

• Published in: Applied biochemistry and biotechnology Vol. 87; no. 3; pp. 203 - 218
• Main Authors: Morita, M, Watanabe, Y, Saiki, H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer 01.06.2000; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: air flow; Algae; algal culture; Base Sequence; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; biomass; Bioreactors; Biotechnology; carbon dioxide; Carbon Dioxide - metabolism; Chlorella - classification; Chlorella - genetics; Chlorella - metabolism; Chlorella sorokiniana; energy; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; gases; High temperature; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Light; Light intensity; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Microalgae; Microbial engineering. Fermentation and microbial culture technology; Microscopy, Electron; Molecular Sequence Data; nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; photobioreactors; Photosynthesis; photosynthetically active radiation; power plants; Reactors; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Studies; sulfur dioxide; Sulfur Dioxide - metabolism; summer; Temperature; Thermal power; Thermal power plants; Time Factors; weather; Japan; Chlorophyta; Batchwise; Algae; Biotransformation; Photobioreactor; Carbon dioxide; Microorganism culture; Environmental factor; Chlorophyceae; Photosynthesis; Thallophyta; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 0273-2289; 1559-0291; 0273-2289
• DOI: 10.1385/abab:87:3:203

The batch culture of a newly isolated strain of a green microalga, Chlorella sorokiniana, was carried out using a conical helical tubular photobioreactor. The isolate was capable of good growth at 40 degrees C under an airstream enriched with 10% CO2. The maximum photosynthetic productivity was 34.4 g of dry biomass/(m2 of installation area(.)d) (12-h light/12-h light/12-h dark cycle) when the cells were illuminated with an average photosynthetic photon flux density (photosynthetically active radiation ([PAR]400-700 nm) simulating the outdoors in central Japan (0.980 mmol photons/[m2(.)s]). This corresponded to a photosynthetic efficiency of 8.67% (PAR), which was defined as the percentage of the light energy recovered as biomass (394 kJ/[reactor(.)d]) to the total light energy received (4545 kJ/[reactor(.)d]). A similarly high photosynthetic efficiency (8.12%[PAR]) was also attained in the combined presence of 10% CO2, 100 ppm of NO, and 25 ppm of SO2. Moreover, good photosynthetic productivity was also obtained under high temperature and high light intensity conditions (maximum temperature, 46.5 degrees C; 1.737 mmol photons/[m2(.)s]), when simulating the strong irradiance of the midday summer sun. This strain thus appears well suited for practical application for converting CO2 present in the stack gases emitted by thermal power plants and should be feasible even during the hot summer weather.