Comparison of monoculture and mixed culture (Scenedesmus obliquus and wild algae) for C, N, and P removal and lipid production

Abstract

This study compared the efficiency of nutrient removal and lipid accumulation by a monoculture of Scenedesmus obliquus and mixed cultures of microalgae. The highest removal efficiencies of ammonium (99.2%), phosphate (91.2%), and total organic carbon (83.6%) occurred in the monoculture. All the mixed cultures were dominated by S. quadricauda; in some mixed cultures, the proportions of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and C. microsphaera reached > 20%. The lipid content and lipid production in the monoculture were 15.9% and 52.3mgkg-1, respectively, significantly higher than those in all the mixed cultures of microalgae. In all the mixed cultures, the proportion of palmitic acid was > 50%. The results suggest that the monoculture had advantages over the mixed culture of microalgae in terms of nutrient removal and lipid production.