Abstract
Mixotrophic cultures of Phaeodactylum tricornutum were carried out in bubble columns using fructose and glycerol in indoor fed-batch and semi-continuous modes. In the fed-batch cultures, different nutrient-addition strategies, combined with stepwise increments in the light intensity, were assayed. It was found that glycerol promoted significantly higher biomass productivity than fructose. A glycerol-induced photoinhibition that arrested the growth of P. tricornutun was also observed. As this was considered a limitation as regards transferring the fed-batch mode to outdoor conditions, this information was used to culture P. tricornutum in semi-continuous mode. Similar glycerol-induced photoinhibition was not observed in these cultures, even at highest dilution rates. Although the highest biomass (1.5gL-1d-1) and EPA (40mgL-1d-1) productivities found in the semi-continuous cultures were lower than those obtained photoautotrophically in outdoor photobioreactors, the findings showed that semi-continuous mode was an excellent candidate for transferring mixotrophic culture to an outdoor setting.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 569-576 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Bioresource Technology |
Volume | 147 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Fed-batch
- Glycerol
- Microalgae
- Mixotrophic growth
- Semi-continuous