• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.109-118
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• 2015

Open raceway ponds are cost-efficient for mass cultivation of microalgae compared with photobioreactors. Although low-cost options like wastewater as nutrient source is studied to overcome the commercialization threshold for biodiesel production from microalgae, a cost analysis on the use of wastewater and other incremental increases in productivity has not been elucidated. We determined the effect of using wastewater and wavelength filters on microalgal productivity. Experimental results were then fitted into a model, and cost analysis was performed in comparison with control raceways. Three different microalgal strains, Chlorella vulgaris AG10032, Chlorella sp. JK2, and Scenedesmus sp. JK10, were tested for nutrient removal under different light wavelengths (blue, green, red, and white) using filters in batch cultivation. Blue wavelength showed an average of 27% higher nutrient removal and at least 42% higher chemical oxygen demand removal compared with white light. Naturally, the specific growth rate of microalgae cultivated under blue wavelength was on average 10.8% higher than white wavelength. Similarly, lipid productivity was highest in blue wavelength, at least 46.8% higher than white wavelength, whereas FAME composition revealed a mild increase in oleic and palmitic acid levels. Cost analysis reveals that raceways treating wastewater and using monochromatic wavelength would decrease costs from 2.71 to 0.73 $/kg biomass. We prove that increasing both biomass and lipid productivity is possible through cost-effective approaches, thereby accelerating the commercialization of low-value products from microalgae, like biodiesel.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.352-358
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• 2001

Because algal cells are so efficient at absorbing incoming light energy, providing more light energy to photobioreactors would simply decrease energy conversion efficiency. Furthermore, the algal biomass productivity in photobioreactor is always proportional to the total photosynthetic rate. In order to optimize the productivity of algal photobioreactors (PBRs), the oxygen production rate should be estimated. Based on a simple model of light penetration depth and algal photosynthesis, the oxygen production rate in high-density microalgal cultures could be calculated. The estimated values and profiles of oxygen production rate by this model were found to be in accordance with the experimental data. Optimal parameters for PBR operations were also calculated using the model.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.854-866
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• 2016

The production cost of biodiesel from microalgae is still not competitive, compared with that of petroleum fuels. The genetic improvement of microalgal strains to increase triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation is one way to reduce production costs. One of the most promising approaches is the isolation of starch-deficient mutants, which have been reported to successfully increase TAG yields. To date, such a stable mutant is not available in an oleaginous marine microalga, despite several advantages of using marine species for biodiesel production. Algae in the genus Dunaliella are known to tolerate high salt concentration and other environmental stresses. In addition, the cultivation processes for large-scale outdoor commercialization have been well established for this genus. In this study, Dunaliella tertiolecta was used to screen for starch-deficient mutants, using an iodine vapor-staining method. Four out of 20,016 UV-mutagenized strains showed a substantial reduction of starch content. A significantly higher TAG content, up to 3-fold of the wild-type level, was observed in three of the mutants upon induction by nitrogen depletion. The carotenoid production and growth characteristics of these mutants, under both normal and oxidative stress conditions, were not compromised, suggesting that these processes are not necessarily affected by starch deficiency. The results from this work open up new possibilities for exploring Dunaliella for biodiesel production.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 2014

Due to the rapid energy consumption and fossil fuel abundance reduction, the world is progressively in need of alternative and renewable energy sources such as biodiesel. Biodiesel from microalgae offers high hopes to the scientific world for its potential as well as its non-competition with arable lands. Taking consideration to reduce the cost of production as well as to attain twin environmental goals of treatment and use of animal waste material the microalgal cultivation using piggery manure has been tested in this study. Unialgal strains such as Chlorella sp. JK2, Scenedesmus sp. JK10, and an indigenous mixed microalgal culture CSS were cultured for 20 days in diluted piggery manure using Small Scale Raceway Pond (SSRP). Biomass production and lipid productivity of CSS were $1.19{\pm}0.09gL^{-1}$, $12.44{\pm}0.38mgL^{-1}day^{-1}$, respectively and almost twice that of unialgal strains. Also, total nitrogen and total phosphorus removal efficiencies of CSS was 93.6% and 98.5% respectively and 30% higher removal efficiency compared to the use of unialgal strains. These results indicate that the piggery manure can provide microalgae necessary nitrogen and phosphorus for growth thereby effectively treating the manure. In addition, overall cost of microalgal cultivation and subsequently biodiesel production would be significantly reduced.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2014

The world is in need of sustainable and eco-friendly energy sources such as microalgal biodiesel due to global warming and fossil fuel shortages. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of liquid fertilizer produced from swine manure and agriculture grade solid fertilizers as nutrient sources for microalgal biomass production. Mixed culture (Chlorella spp., Scenedesmus spp., Stigeoclonium spp.; CSS) was cultivated for 28 days in Small Scale Raceway Pond (SSRP) using various nutrient sources (swine manure liquid fertilizer, agricultural solid fertilizer, and mixture of these two fertilizers). Biomass and lipid productivity of fertilizer mixture were the highest at 0.8 g/L and 5.8 mg/L/day, respectively. These results indicate that the fertilizer mixture can provide microalgae necessary nutrient sources for stable biodiesel production and biomass growth. In addition, overall cost of microalgal cultivation and subsequently biodiesel production would be significantly reduced.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Biology Conference
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• 2004.12a
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• pp.90-90
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• 2004

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2003

Microalgae are a diverse group of photosynthetic organisms and abundant in every ecosystem in the biosphere. They are common in aqueous environments including marine, brackish and fresh waters and in some habitats that lack eukaryotic life such as some hot springs and highly alkaline lakes. Microalgal biotechnology that is focused on the microalgae-based production of a variety of useful materials such as pharmaceutical comfounds, health foods, natural pigments, and biofuels is considered as an important discipline with the development of biotechnology. In addition, the mass cultivation of microalgae can also contribute to improving the environmental quality by reducing the concentration of $CO_2$ which is one of major gases lead to global warming. Consequently, it seems that the microalgae can be used as an efficient, renewable, environmentally friendly source of high-value biomaterials such as chemicals, pigments, energy, etc. and the microalgal biotechnology will most likely represent a larger portion of modern biotechnology.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1460-1471
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• 2013

Microalgal biofuel production from wastewater has economic and environmental advantages. This article investigates the lipid production from high chemical oxygen demand (COD) bioethanol wastewater without dilution or additional nutrients, using a newly isolated heterotrophic microalga, Chlorella vulgaris LAM-Q. To enhance lipid accumulation, the combined effects of important operational parameters were studied via response surface methodology. The optimal conditions were found to be temperature of $22.8^{\circ}C$, initial pH of 6.7, and inoculum density of $1.2{\times}10^8cells/ml$. Under these conditions, the lipid productivity reached 195.96 mg/l/d, which was markedly higher than previously reported values in similar systems. According to the fatty acid composition, the obtained lipids were suitable feedstock for biodiesel production. Meanwhile, 61.40% of COD, 51.24% of total nitrogen, and 58.76% of total phosphorus were removed from the bioethanol wastewater during microalgal growth. In addition, 19.17% of the energy contained in the wastewater was transferred to the microalgal biomass in the fermentation process. These findings suggest that C. vulgaris LAM-Q can efficiently produce lipids from high-concentration bioethanol wastewater, and simultaneously performs wastewater treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1434-1443
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• 2019

Although chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an important issue for wastewater treatment, COD reduction with microalgae has been less studied compared to nitrogen or phosphorus removal. COD removal is not efficient in conventional wastewater treatment using microalgae, because the algae release organic compounds, thereby finally increasing the COD level. This study focused on enhancing COD removal and meeting the effluent standard for discharge by optimizing sludge inoculation timing, which was an important factor in forming a desirable algae/bacteria consortium for more efficient COD removal and higher biomass productivity. Activated sludge has been added to reduce COD in many studies, but its inoculation was done at the start of cultivation. However, when the sludge was added after 3 days of cultivation, at which point the COD concentration started to increase again, the algal growth and biomass productivity were higher than those of the initial sludge inoculation and control (without sludge). Algal and bacterial cell numbers measured by qPCR were also higher with sludge inoculation at 3 days later. In a semi-continuous cultivation system, a hydraulic retention time of 5 days with sludge inoculation resulted in the highest biomass productivity and N/P removal. This study achieved a further improved COD removal than the conventional microalgal wastewater treatment, by introducing bacteria in activated sludge at optimized timing.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 2018

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes inflammation and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) over-expression and extra cellular matrix depletion, leading to skin photo-aging such as wrinkle formation, dryness, and sagging. In this study, we demonstrated that pretreatment with the hexane extract of microalgae protects UVB mediated cell damages. The results of clinical study showed that Microalgal Oil treated group reduced wrinkle and improve elasticity. All these results suggest Microalgal Oil may be useful as new photo-aging cosmetics for protection against UV induced activity.