ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING OF MICROALGAE FOR ENHANCED ENERGY PRODUCTION

Abstract

Microalgae are considered as potential source of renewable energy generation. Algal biomass is used as key feedstock for renewable energy generation using algal resources. Accumulation of biomass mostly depends on the growth rate, which is usually regulated by pH and salinity. Present study was conducted to study the effect of variation in pH and saline rangeson growth, biomass and lipid  content of a freshwater microalga Chlorella vulgaris. The growth, biomass and lipid content showed a significant
difference due to the variation in pH and saline range. The growth and lipid content was maximum at pH 7.0 with compared to 6, 8 and 9. On the other hand an increase of salinity from 0.1M to 0.25 M caused decreased growth rate, whereas the lipid content showed an increasing trend.