Abstract
In situ extraction or “milking” of microalgae is a promising approach to reduce downstream costs in order to produce low-value substances such as lipids from microalgae in an economical way. Due to its ability to secrete high amounts of long-chain hydrocarbons to an extracellular matrix, the green microalga Botryococcus braunii is suitable for the process of in situ extraction as the cost intensive steps of harvesting, dewatering, and cell disruption could be omitted. Based on a previous study investigating various B. braunii strains in terms of growth, lipid accumulation, and solvent compatibility, the B. braunii strains Showa and Bot22 (both B race) were identified as potential candidates for the process of in situ extraction. In order to prove the suitability of these two strains for the process of in situ extraction, this study first determined the optimal extraction time using short-term in situ extraction over 7 days at different starting biomass concentrations of 1.5 and 2.5 g L−1. Furthermore, both strains were treated applying the optimal extraction time in long-term in situ extractions for 30 days to confirm the results from the short-term extractions. The results indicate a strain-dependent optimal extraction time of 300 min day−1 for strain Showa and 200 min day−1 for strain Bot22. During long-term in situ extraction for 30 days, hydrocarbon productivity was 16.99 mg L−1 day−1 (10.53 mg gDW−1 day−1) for strain Showa and 14.53 mg L−1 day−1 (10.48 mg gDW−1 day−1) for strain Bot22. Furthermore, a direct correlation between hydrocarbon productivity achieved by in situ extraction and the hydrocarbon concentration in the biomass of the respective strain could be established. It could be shown that the consideration of the effective extraction time and the phase boundary area is required to calculate an extraction system independent value for the comparison of different extraction setups.
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