Journal article
Growth and photosynthetic activity of Botryococcus braunii biofilms
Journal of Applied Phycology, Vol.29(3), pp.1123-1134
2017
Abstract
Botryococcus braunii is a green microalga capable of producing large amounts of external long-chain hydrocarbons suitable as a source of biofuel. There have been several studies indicating that cultures of B. braunii can reduce the energy and water requirement for mass biofuel production, especially if non-destructive extraction methods for milking hydrocarbons are used. Growing microalgae as a raw material for biofuel using conventional liquid-based cultivation (i.e., raceway ponds) has yet to be shown to be economically successful. An alternative solid growth (biofilm) cultivation method can markedly reduce the energy requirements and costs associated with the harvesting and dewatering processes. We evaluated the growth of biofilms of several strains of B. braunii (from races A, B, L and S) and found that three of the four tested races successfully grew to stationary phase in 10 weeks with no contamination. Among all races, B. braunii BOT22 (race B) reached the highest biomass and lipid yields (3.80 mg dry weight cm−2 day−1 and 1.11 mg dry weight cm−2). Irrespective of the race, almost all photosynthetic parameters (FV/F0, PIABS and the OJIP curve) showed that the biofilm cultures were more stressed during lag and stationary phases than in logarithmic phase. We also studied the Botryococcus biofilm profiles using confocal microscopy and found that this method is suitable for estimating the overall biomass yield when compared with gravimetric measurement. In conclusion, the growth characteristics (biomass and lipid) and photosynthetic performance of all races indicated that B. braunii BOT22 is the most promising strain for biofilm cultivation.
Details
- Title
- Growth and photosynthetic activity of Botryococcus braunii biofilms
- Authors/Creators
- R.S. Wijihastuti (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityN.R. Moheimani (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityP.A. Bahri (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityJ.J. Cosgrove (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityM.M. Watanabe (Author/Creator) - University of Tsukuba
- Publication Details
- Journal of Applied Phycology, Vol.29(3), pp.1123-1134
- Publisher
- Springer Verlag
- Identifiers
- 991005540211607891
- Copyright
- © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Engineering and Information Technology
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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Source: InCites
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.171 Photoproductivity
- 3.171.477 Microalgae Biotechnology
- Web Of Science research areas
- Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
- Marine & Freshwater Biology
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science