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High-productivity lipid production using mixed trophic state cultivation of Auxenochlorella (Chlorella) protothecoides

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Abstract

A mixed trophic state production process for algal lipids for use as feedstock for renewable biofuel production was developed and deployed at subpilot scale using a green microalga, Auxenochlorella (Chlorella) protothecoides. The process is composed of two separate stages: (1) the photoautotrophic stage, focused on biomass production in open ponds, and (2) the heterotrophic stage focused on lipid production and accumulation in aerobic bioreactors using fixed carbon substrates (e.g., sugar). The process achieved biomass and lipid productivities of 0.5 and 0.27 g/L/h that were, respectively, over 250 and 670 times higher than those obtained from the photoautotrophic cultivation stage. The biomass oil content (over 60 % w/DCW) following the two-stage process was predominantly monounsaturated fatty acids (~82 %) and largely free of contaminating pigments that is more suitable for biodiesel production than photosynthetically generated lipid. Similar process performances were obtained using cassava hydrolysate as an alternative feedstock to glucose.

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Acknowledgments

This research project was supported under the Department of Energy grant DE-FE-0000888 awarded by National Energy Technology Laboratory. Additional support was supplied by a large group of excellent support staff at Phycal in the R&D group who worked tirelessly to help enable this process.

Conflict of interest

All authors were former employees of Phycal Inc. and paid in part from a grant supplied by the US Department of Energy.

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Author notes

  1. Hamid Rismani-Yazdi

    Present address: Novozymes North America Inc., P.O. Box 576, Franklinton, NC, 27525, USA

  2. F. C. Thomas Allnutt

    Present address: BrioBiotech LLC, P.O. Box 26, Glenelg, MD, 21737, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Phycal Inc., 51 Alpha Park, Highland Heights, OH, 44143, USA

    Hamid Rismani-Yazdi, Kristin H. Hampel, Christopher D. Lane, Ben A. Kessler, Nicholas M. White, Kenneth M. Moats & F. C. Thomas Allnutt

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  1. Hamid Rismani-Yazdi
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Correspondence to Hamid Rismani-Yazdi.

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Rismani-Yazdi, H., Hampel, K.H., Lane, C.D. et al. High-productivity lipid production using mixed trophic state cultivation of Auxenochlorella (Chlorella) protothecoides . Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 38, 639–650 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-014-1303-5

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