In recent years, the potential of microalgae-based biofuels as a renewable energy source has garnered significant attention due to their inherent ability to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) efficiently. This study investigates Chlorella vulgaris FACHB-8's growth, photosynthesis, and lipid accumulation under different carbon source and CO2 concentration conditions with Central composite design. Results reveal that a 10% CO2 concentration enhances biomass and cell count, yielding 0.94 g L−1 and 106.8 × 106 cells·ml−1, respectively, after 14 days of autotrophic cultivation. However, excessive CO2 inhibits growth, notably observed with 20% CO2 yielding 0.86 g L−1 biomass. Pigment content positively correlates with biomass under autotrophic conditions, reaching 42.55 mg g−1 in the 10% CO2 group. Under photosynthetic mixotrophy, carbonic anhydrase activity decreases with higher CO2 concentrations, suggesting reduced enzyme demand. Glucose exhibits the highest lipid content (31.87%), surpassing autotrophic conditions (24.80%). Glycerol presents favorable lipid content (31.78%) and settling efficiency (85.07%), indicating potential for self-flocculation harvesting. Chlorophyll fluorescence data highlight active photosynthesis in mixotrophic conditions, with glucose and sucrose affecting energy conversion. This highlights the critical role of microalgae biofuels in the pursuit of cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions.