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Oleaginous Microalgae from Dairy Farm Wastewater for Biodiesel Production: Isolation, Characterization and Mass Cultivation

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Abstract

Producing biodiesel from microalgae grown in wastewater is environment-friendly and cost-effective. The present study investigated the algae found in wastewater of a local dairy farm for their potential as biodiesel feedstocks. Thirteen native algal strains were isolated. On the basis of morphology and 16S/18S rRNA gene sequences, one strain was identified to be a member of cyanobacteria, while other 12 strains belong to green algae. After screening, two Scenedesmus strains out of the 13 microalgae isolates demonstrated superiority in growth rate, lipid productivity, and sedimentation properties, and therefore were selected for further scale-up outdoor cultivation. Both Scenedesmus strains quickly adapted to the outdoor conditions, exhibiting reasonably good growth and strong anti-contamination capabilities. In flat-plate photobioreactors (PBRs), algal cells accumulated predominantly neutral lipids that accounted for over 60% of total lipids with almost 70% being triacylglycerol. In addition, Scenedesmus obliquus had a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, of which the amount of oleic acid (C18:1) was up to 27.11%. Based on these findings, the dairy farm wastewater-isolated Scenedesmus strains represent promising sources of low-cost, high-quality oil for biofuel production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Zheng Sun, Xiao-peng Fang, Xiao-yang Li & Zhi-gang Zhou

  2. National Demonstration Center for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Zheng Sun, Xiao-peng Fang, Xiao-yang Li & Zhi-gang Zhou

  3. International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Zheng Sun, Xiao-peng Fang, Xiao-yang Li & Zhi-gang Zhou

Authors
  1. Zheng Sun
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  2. Xiao-peng Fang
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  3. Xiao-yang Li
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  4. Zhi-gang Zhou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhi-gang Zhou.

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Funding

Authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 31501493), “Young Eastern Scholar Program” at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning (grant number QD2015047) and the Special Project of Marine Renewable Energy from the State Oceanic Administration (grant number SHME2011SW02).

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Highlights

• Native algal strains were isolated from dairy farm wastewater

• Thirteen strains were identified and classified based on morphology and molecular characterization

• High lipid yields and robustness displayed in indoor/outdoor environments

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Sun, Z., Fang, Xp., Li, Xy. et al. Oleaginous Microalgae from Dairy Farm Wastewater for Biodiesel Production: Isolation, Characterization and Mass Cultivation. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 184, 524–537 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-017-2564-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-017-2564-7

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