Influence of light absorption rate by Nannochloropsis oculata on triglyceride production during nitrogen starvation

Influence of light absorption rate on the astaxanthin production by the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis during nitrogen starvation

Large amounts of astaxanthin (about 4% DW) can be produced under nitrogen starvation of Haematococcus pluvialis in photobioreactors (PBRs) exposed to high light conditions to induce a light stress. However, in PBR, the large biomass concentration usually achieved leads to strong light attenuation conditions, which makes complex the analysis of this "light stress". This study aims to elucidate the role of light transfer in astaxanthin cell content and productivity from the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis during nitrogen starvation. Haematococcus pluvialis was cultivated in a flat-panel PBR in a batch mode with sudden nitrogen starvation conditions and an incident photon flux density (PFD) of 250 µmolhν m-2 s-1. Different initial biomass concentrations ( C x 0 ) were evaluated, 0.21, 0.52, 1.39 and 2.21 kg m-3. As a result, spectral mass absorption cross-sections of Haematococcus pluvialis were measured at different times during nitrogen starvation, and were used to relate the mean rate of photon absorption (MRPA) to the astaxanthin productivity. A minimum initial MRPA of 7000 ± 500 µmolhν kgx-1 s-1 was found necessary to trigger large accumulation of astaxanthin in Haematococcus pluvialis cells (up to 3.21% DW) during nitrogen starvation conditions. The results also demonstrated the link between the MRPA and the daily astaxanthin productivity of Haematococcus pluvialis cultures, introducing then the MRPA as a physical quantity of interest for a rational optimization of the light culture conditions in PBRs.

The Assessment of the Real-Time Radiative Properties and Productivity of Limnospira platensis in Tubular Photobioreactors

The development of tools to predict the photobioreactors' (PBRs) productivity is a significant concern in biotechnology. To this end, it is required to know the light availability inside the cultivation unit and combine this information with a suitable kinetic expression that links the distribution of radiant energy with the cell growth rate. In a previous study, we presented and validated a methodology for assessing the radiative properties necessary to address the light distribution inside a PBR for varying illuminating conditions through the cultivation process of a phototrophic microorganism. Here, we sought to utilise this information to construct a predictive tool to estimate the productivity of an autotrophic bioprocess carried out in a 100 [L] tubular photobioreactor (TPBR). Firstly, the time-dependent optical properties over ten batch cultures of L. platensis were calculated. Secondly, the local volumetric rate of photon absorption was assessed based on a physical model of the interaction of the radiant energy with the suspended biomass, together with a Monte Carlo simulation algorithm. Lastly, a kinetic expression valid for low illumination conditions has been utilised to reproduce all the cultures' experimentally obtained dry weight biomass concentration values. Taken together, time-dependent radiative properties and the kinetic model produced a valuable tool for the study and scaling up of TPBRs.

Optimization of continuous TAG production by Nannochloropsis gaditana in solar-nitrogen-limited culture

Nitrogen limitation and changing solar conditions are both known to affect triacylglycerol (TAG) production in microalgae. This work investigates the optimization of TAG production with a continuous nitrogen-limited culture of Nannochloropsis gaditana in simulated day-night cycles. The effect of day-night cycles was firstly investigated in nitrogen-deprived condition (i.e. batch culture), emphasizing a significant change in mechanical resistance of the strain during the night. The concept of Released TAG, which shows how much of the TAG produced is actually recovered in the downstream stages, i.e. after cell disruption, was shown here of interest. For a maximum released TAG, the optimum harvesting time was suggested as being 4 hours into the night period, which minimizes the losses due to a too great cell mechanical resistance. The protocol for continuous nitrogen-limited culture was then optimized, and a continuous nitrogen addition was compared to a pulsed-addition. For the latter, nitrogen was supplied in a single pulse at the beginning of the light periods, while the bulk medium was supplied separately at a slow but constant dilution rate of 0.005 h - 1 . The pulse dose was calculated after the study of nitrogen consumption and TAG production/consumption during the day-night cycles. The estimated released TAG for the pulsed-addition of 1.4 ⋅ 1 0 - 3 kg/m 2 ⋅ d was found significantly higher than the one achieved in batch culture (0.3 ⋅ 1 0 - 3 kg/m 2 ⋅ d) but lower than for continuous nitrogen addition which obtained the highest released TAG of 3 ⋅ 1 0 - 3 kg/m 2 ⋅ d. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of biochemical compositions of microalgae within the spectral range from 300 to 1700 nm

The optical properties of biochemical compositions of microalgae are vital for the improvement of biosensor design, photobioreactor design, biofuel, and biophotonics techniques. A combination method using both the double optical pathlength transmission method (DOPTM) and the ellipsometry method (EM) is called DOPTM-EM, and it is used to acquire the optical constants of protein, lipid, and carbohydrate of Haematococcus pluvialis, Nannochloropsis sp., and Spirulina in both a solid state and a solution state within the visible and near-infrared spectral range. For different types of microalgae, the refractive indices of protein and carbohydrate in the solid state are similar to each other, but show an observed difference from lipid in the solid state. The refractive indices of protein and carbohydrate in the solution state presents a visible distinction in the researched spectral range. The absorption indices of protein, lipid, and carbohydrate in the solid state for these three types of microalgae are close to each other in the spectral range of 300-500 nm. However, an observed difference is shown in the spectral range of 500-1700 nm. For ease of application, the refractive index of biochemical composition of microalgae was fitted based on the Sellmeier equation. We believe this work can provide a reference to obtain the optical properties of biomaterial with high accuracy.

Photobioreactors for cultivation and synthesis: Specifications, challenges, and perspectives

Due to their versatility and the high biomass yield produced, cultivation of phototrophic organisms is an increasingly important field. In general, open ponds are chosen to do it because of economic reasons; however, this strategy has several drawbacks such as poor control of culture conditions and a considerable risk of contamination. On the other hand, photobioreactors are an attractive choice to perform cultivation of phototrophic organisms, many times in a large scale and an efficient way. Furthermore, photobioreactors are being increasingly used in bioprocesses to obtain valuable chemical products. In this review, we briefly describe different photobioreactor set-ups, including some of the recent designs, and their characteristics. Additionally, we discuss the current challenges and advantages that each different type of photobioreactor presents, their applicability in biocatalysis and some modern modeling tools that can be applied to further enhance a certain process.

Quantitative analysis on photon numbers received per cell for triggering β-carotene accumulation in Dunaliella salina

Accumulation of β-carotene in Dunaliella salina is highly dependent on light exposure intensity and duration, but quantitative analysis on photon numbers received per cell for triggering β-carotene accumulation is not available so far. In this study, experiment results showed that significant β-carotene accumulation occurred after at least 8 h illumination at 400 µmol photons·m-2·s-1. To quantify the average number of photons received per cell, correlations of light attenuation with light path, biomass concentration, and β-carotene content were, respectively, established using both Lambert-Beer and Cornet models, and the latter provided better simulation. Using Cornet model, average number of photons received per cell (APRPC) was calculated and proposed as a parameter for β-carotene accumulation, and constant APRPC was maintained by adjusting average irradiance based on cell concentration and carotenoids content changes during the whole induction period. It was found that once APRPC reached 0.7 µmol photons cell-1, β-carotene accumulation was triggered, and it was saturated at 9.9 µmol photons cell-1. This study showed that APRPC can be used as an important parameter to precisely simulate and control β-carotene production by D. salina.

Producing Energy-Rich Microalgae Biomass for Liquid Biofuels: Influence of Strain Selection and Culture Conditions

Energy-storage metabolites such as neutral lipids and carbohydrates are valuable compounds for liquid biofuel production. The aim of this work is to elucidate the main biological responses of two algae species known for their effective energy-rich compound accumulation in nitrogen limitation and day–night cycles: Nannochloropsis gaditana, a seawater species, and Parachlorella kessleri, a freshwater species. Lipid and carbohydrate production are investigated, as well as cell resistance to mechanical disruption for energy-rich compound release. Nitrogen-depleted N. gaditana showed only a low consumption of energy-storage molecules with a non-significant preference for neutral lipids (TAG) and carbohydrates in day–night cycles. However, it did accumulate significantly fewer carbohydrates than P. kessleri. Following this, the highest levels of productivity for N. gaditana in chemostat cultures at four levels of nitrogen limitation were found to be 3.4 and 2.2 × 10−3 kg/m2·d for carbohydrates and TAG, respectively, at 56%NO3 limitation. The cell disruption rate of N. gaditana decreased along with nitrogen limitation, from 75% (at 200%NO3) to 17% (at 13%NO3). In the context of potentially recoverable energy for biofuels, P. kessleri showed good potential for biodiesel and high potential for bioethanol; by contrast, N. gaditana was found to be more efficient for biodiesel production only.

A review on photobioreactor design and modelling for microalgae production

From the cell to the photobioreactor and to the industrial exploitation of microalgae, through the controlled experiments and modelling.

Experimental and Model-Based Analysis to Optimize Microalgal Biomass Productivity in a Pilot-Scale Tubular Photobioreactor

A dynamic coarse-grained model of microalgal growth considering light availability and temperature under discontinuous bioprocess operation was parameterized using experimental data from 15 batch cultivations of Nannochloropsis granulata in a pilot-scale tubular photobioreactor. The methodology applied consists of a consecutive two-step model parameter estimation using pooled, clustered and reorganized data to obtain initial estimates and multi-experiment fitting to obtain the final estimates, which are: maximum specific growth rate μ_max = 1.56 d⁻¹, specific photon half-saturation constant K_S,ph = 1.89 molphgX-1d-1, specific photon maintenance coefficient m_ph = 0.346 molphgX-1d-1 and the cardinal temperatures T_min = 2.3°C, T_opt = 27.93°C and T_max = 32.59°C. Biomass productivity prediction proved highly accurate, expressed by the mean absolute percent error MAPE = 7.2%. Model-based numerical optimization of biomass productivity for repeated discontinuous operation with respect to the process parameters cultivation cycle time, inoculation biomass concentration and temperature yielded productivity gains of up to 35%. This optimization points to best performance under continuous operation. The approach successfully applied here to small pilot-scale confirms an earlier one to lab-scale, indicating its transferability to larger scale tubular photobioreactors.

Novel photobioreactor design for the culture of Dunaliella tertiolecta - Impact of color in the growth of microalgae

Microalgae are affected by the amount of light received. This parameter can be controlled by changing the light source and altering the reactor used for their growth. In this study, the effect of different colors of light was analyzed in the growth of Dunaliella tertiolecta, observing that blue lighting systems reached a biomass 10 times superior to the one generated by orange lightning systems. This growth effect was seen in a novel tubular internally illuminated photobioreactor. In this photobioreactor, the blue reactor produced 1.7 times the biomass of the red reactor, with the particularity that the latter showed an oscillating behavior in its growth. From irradiance models, the light dispersion coefficient is higher than the absorption coefficient when using red light. In contrast, with blue light, the value of the scattering coefficient is almost null.

Autophagy-Mediated Regulation of Lipid Metabolism and Its Impact on the Growth in Algae and Seed Plants

Under nutrient starvation conditions, algae and seed-plant cells accumulate carbon metabolites such as storage lipids, triacylglycerols (TAGs), and starches. Recent research has suggested the involvement of autophagy in the regulation of carbon metabolites under nutrient starvation. When algae are grown under carbon starvation conditions, such as growth in darkness or in the presence of a photosynthesis inhibitor, lipid droplets are surrounded by phagophores. Indeed, the amount of TAGs in an autophagy-deficient mutant has been found to be greater than that in wild type under nitrogen starvation, and cerulenin, which is one of the inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis, induces autophagy. In land plants, TAGs accumulate predominantly in seeds and etiolated seedlings. These TAGs are degraded in peroxisomes via β-oxidation during germination as a source of carbon for growth without photosynthesis. A global analysis of the role of autophagy in Arabidopsis seedlings under carbon starvation revealed that a lack of autophagy enhances the accumulation of TAGs and fatty acids. In Oryza sativa, autophagy-mediated degradation of TAGs and diacylglycerols has been suggested to be important for pollen development. In this review, we introduce and summarize research findings demonstrating that autophagy affects lipid metabolism and discuss the role of autophagy in membrane and storage-lipid homeostasis, each of which affects the growth and development of seed plants and algae.

Switching cultivation for enhancing biomass and lipid production with extracellular polymeric substance as co-products in Heynigia riparia SX01

Switching cultivation (mixotrophic-heterotrophic, 12h:12h) of Heynigia riparia SX01 was studied, the maximum biomass concentration of 3.55gL^-1 and lipid yield of 1.45gL^-1 were achieved after 8days cultivation. The extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) was developed as co-product. Addition of MgSO₄ could enhance the production of EPS. The highest amount of 0.60gL^-1 EPS was obtained with the addition of 2gL^-1 MgSO₄, the self-flocculation efficiency was as high as 83% at this condition. The total lipid and lipid fractions did not show differences with extra MgSO₄. Based on the above results, a new biodiesel production model was proposed: culturing Heynigia riparia SX01 with extra 2gL^-1 MgSO₄ by switching cultivation and using self flocculation to collect microalgae for biodiesel production, while EPS was collected as valuable co-products.

Screening of freshwater and seawater microalgae strains in fully controlled photobioreactors for biodiesel production

Strain selection is one of the primary hurdles facing cost-effective microalgal biodiesel production. Indeed, the strain used affects both upstream and downstream biodiesel production processes. This study presents a screening procedure that considers the most significant criteria in microalgal biodiesel production including TAG production and wet extraction and recovery of TAGs. Fourteen freshwater and seawater strains were investigated. Large variation was observed between the strains in all the screening criteria. The overall screening procedure ultimately led to the identification of Parachlorella kessleri UTEX2229 and Nannochloropsis gaditana CCMP527 as the best freshwater and seawater strains, respectively. They featured the largest areal TAG productivity equal to 2.7×10(-3) and 2.3×10(-3)kgm(-2)d(-1), respectively. These two strains also displayed encouraging cell fragility in a high pressure bead milling process with 69% and 98% cell disruption at 1750bar making them remarkable strains for TAG extraction in wet environment.

Can spherical eukaryotic microalgae cells be treated as optically homogeneous?

This study aims to answer the question of whether spherical unicellular photoautotrophic eukaryotic microalgae cells, consisting of various intracellular compartments with their respective optical properties, can be modeled as homogeneous spheres with some effective complex index of refraction. The spectral radiation characteristics in the photosynthetically active region of a spherical heterogeneous microalgae cell, representative of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and consisting of spherical compartments corresponding to the cell wall, cytoplasm, chloroplast, nucleus, and mitochondria, were estimated using the superposition T-matrix method. The effects of the presence of intracellular lipids and/or starch accumulation caused by stresses, such as nitrogen limitation, were explored. Predictions by the T-matrix method were qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with experimental measurements for various microalgae species. The volume-equivalent homogeneous sphere approximation with volume-averaged effective complex index of refraction gave accurate estimates of the spectral (i) absorption and (ii) scattering cross sections of the heterogeneous cells under both nitrogen-replete and nitrogen-limited conditions. In addition, the effect of a strongly refracting cell wall, representative of Chlorella vulgaris, was investigated. In this case, for the purpose of predicting their integral radiation characteristics, the microalgae should be represented as a coated sphere with a coating corresponding to the cell wall and a homogeneous core with volume-averaged complex index of refraction for the rest of the cell. However, both homogeneous sphere and coated sphere approximations predicted strong resonances in the scattering phase function and spectral backscattering cross section that were not observed in that of the heterogeneous cells.

Enhancing growth rate and lipid yield of Chlorella with nuclear irradiation under high salt and CO2 stress

In order to produce biodiesel from microalgae cultured with abundant seawater, Chlorella sp. was mutated with (137)Se-γ ray irradiation and domesticated with f/2 seawater culture medium (salinity=3 wt.%) under 15 vol.% CO2 stress. Biomass yield of the mutant increased by 25% compared with wild species and lipid content increased to 54.9%. When nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the initial substrate increased, the increased propagation speed of the mutant resulted in decreased cell diameter by 26.6% and decreased cell wall thickness by 69.7%. The dramatically increased biomass yield of the mutant with sufficient initial substrate and relative nitrogen starvation in the later growth period with continuous 15 vol.% CO2 led to an increased lipid yield of 1.0 g/L. The long-chain unsaturated fatty acids increased, whereas short-chain saturated fatty acids decreased.

Microalgal TAG production strategies: why batch beats repeated-batch

BACKGROUND

For a commercially feasible microalgal triglyceride (TAG) production, high TAG productivities are required. The operational strategy affects TAG productivity but a systematic comparison between different strategies is lacking. For this, physiological responses of Nannochloropsis sp. to nitrogen (N) starvation and N-rich medium replenishment were studied in lab-scale batch and repeated-batch (part of the culture is periodically harvested and N-rich medium is re-supplied) cultivations under continuous light, and condensed into a mechanistic model.

RESULTS

The model, which successfully described both strategies, was used to identify potential improvements for both batch and repeated-batch and compare the two strategies on optimized TAG yields on light (amount of TAGs produced per mol of supplied PAR photons). TAG yields on light, for batch, from 0.12 (base case at high light) to 0.49 g molph (-1) (at low light and with improved strain) and, for repeated-batch, from 0.07 (base case at high light) to 0.39 g molph (-1) (at low light with improved strain and optimized repeated-batch settings). The base case yields are in line with the yields observed in current state-of-the-art outdoor TAG production.

CONCLUSIONS

For continuous light, an optimized batch process will always result in higher TAG yield on light compared to an optimized repeated-batch process. This is mainly because repeated-batch cycles start with N-starved cells. Their reduced photosynthetic capacity leads to inefficient light use during the regrowth phase which results in lower overall TAG yields compared to a batch process.

Opportunities to improve the areal oil productivity of microalgae

Microalgae are often considered as a promising alternative source of vegetable oils. These oils can be used for food and biofuel applications. Productivities that are projected for large-scale microalgal oil production are, however, often poorly supported by scientific evidence and based on too optimistic assumptions. To facilitate the inclusion of the microalgal physiology in these projections, existing knowledge and novel scientific insights were condensed into a mechanistic model that describes photosynthesis and carbon partitioning during nitrogen starvation. The model is validated using experimental data from both wild-type and a starchless mutant of Scenedesmus obliquus. The model is subsequently used to quantify how reactor design, process design, and strain improvement can improve the oil productivity from 2.1 to up to 10.9 g m(-2) day(-1). These projected productivities are used to reflect on commonly assumed oil productivities and it is concluded that the microalgal oil productivity is often overestimated several folds.

Development and validation of a screening procedure of microalgae for biodiesel production: application to the genus of marine microalgae Nannochloropsis

Nannochloropsis has emerged as a promising alga for biodiesel production. However, the genus consists of 6 species and hundreds of strains making strain selection a challenge. Furthermore, oil productivity is instrumental to economic viability of any algal strain for industrial production, which is dependent on growth rate and oil content. In most cases, these two parameters have been studied independently. Thus, the goal of this study is to provide a combined method for evaluating strain performance in specially designed photobioreactors together with an in-depth lipidomic analyses. The nine strains of Nannochloropsis tested showed considerable variations in productivity and lipidomics highlighting the importance of strain selection. Finally, Nannochloropsis gaditana CCMP527 and Nannochloropsis salina CCMP537 emerged as the two most promising strains, with an oil content of 37 and 27 dry wt% after 11-day nitrogen starvation, respectively, resulting in TAG productivity of 13×10(-3) and 18×10(-3) kg m(-3) d(-1), respectively.

Microalgal triacylglycerides production in outdoor batch-operated tubular PBRs

BACKGROUND

Microalgal triacylglycerides (TAGs) are a promising sustainable feedstock for the biofuel, chemical and food industry. However, industrial production of microalgal products for commodity markets is not yet economically viable, largely because of low microalgal productivity. The latter is strictly dependent on initial-biomass-specific (IBS) light availability (i.e. ratio of light impinging on reactor ground area divided by initial biomass concentration per ground area). This study investigates the effect of IBS-light availability on batch TAG production for Nannochloropsis sp. cultivated in two outdoor tubular reactors (i.e. vertical and horizontal) at different initial biomass concentrations for the TAG accumulation phase, during two distinct seasons (i.e. high and low light conditions).

RESULTS

Increasing IBS-light availability led to both a higher IBS-TAG production rate and TAG content at the end of the batch, whereas biomass yield on light decreased. As a result, an optimum IBS-light availability was determined for the TAG productivity obtained at the end of the batch and several guidelines could be established. The vertical reactor (VR) should be operated at an initial biomass concentration of 1.5 g L(-1) to achieve high TAG productivities (1.9 and 3.2 g m(-2) day(-1) under low and high light, respectively). Instead, the horizontal reactor (HR) should be operated at 2.5 g L(-1) under high light (2.6 g m(-2) day(-1)), and at 1.5 g L(-1) under low light (1.4 g m(-2) day(-1)).

CONCLUSIONS

From this study, the great importance of IBS-light availability on TAG production can be deduced. Although maintaining high light availabilities in the reactor is key to reach high TAG contents at the end of the batch, considerable losses in TAG productivity were observed for the two reactors regardless of light condition, when not operated at optimal initial biomass concentrations (15-40% for VR and 30-60% for HR).