Abstract
Biodiesel is an eco-friendly renewable fuel that can be derived from microalgae. Maximization of biomass and lipid productivities are considered the main challenges for algal biodiesel production. Since conventional batch cultures are time-, space-, and reagent-consuming with many restrictions to apply many replicates, microfluidic technology has recently emerged as an alternative low-cost and efficient technology with high throughput repeatability and reproducibility. Different applications of microfluidic devices in algal biotechnology have been reported, including cell identification, sorting, trapping, and metabolic screening. In this work, Chlorella vulgaris was investigated by encapsulating in a simple droplet-based micro-array device at different light intensities of 20, 80, and 200 µmol/m2/s combined with different nitrate concentrations of 17.6, 8.8, and 4.4 mM. The growth results for C. vulgaris within microfluidic device were compared to the conventional batch culture method. In addition, the effect of combined stress of deficiencies in irradiance and nitrogen availability were studied to illustrate their impact on the metabolic profiling of microalgae. The results showed that the most optimum favorable culturing conditions for Chlorella vulgaris growth within the microfluidic channels were 17.6 mM and 80 µmol/m2/s.
Highlights
Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms and a promising feedstock for different products, such as antibiotics, cosmetics, toothpastes, alginates, agar [1,2,3], and renewable fuels, e.g., biodiesel, biohydrogen, and bioethanol [4,5], because they conserve water and land resources [6]
The growth of C. vulgaris has been significantly enhanced with an increase in light intensity as reported elsewhere [36,37,38]
A microfluidic device was used as a low-cost, simple, and efficient solution for in vitro experiments to study the effects of different light intensities in combination with varying nitrogen availability on the growth rate of Chlorella vulgaris
Summary
Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms and a promising feedstock for different products, such as antibiotics, cosmetics, toothpastes, alginates, agar [1,2,3], and renewable fuels, e.g., biodiesel, biohydrogen, and bioethanol [4,5], because they conserve water and land resources [6]. They can be used as biofertilizers and bioremediators [7]. Different factors affect biomass and the behavior of algal cells [8]. These factors are species-specific and can be categorized into three groups: biological, chemical, and physical factors
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