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Title: The dark side of algae cultivation: Characterizing night biomass loss in three photosynthetic algae, Chlorella sorokiniana, Nannochloropsis salina and Picochlorum sp.

Abstract

Night biomass loss in photosynthetic algae is an essential parameter that is often overlooked when modeling or optimizing biomass productivities. Night respiration acts a tax on daily biomass gains and has not been well characterized in the context of biofuel production. We examined the night biomass loss in three algae strains that may have potential for commercial biomass production (Nannochloropsis salina- CCMP1776, Chlorella sorokiniana- DOE1412, and Picochlorum sp. LANL-WT). Biomass losses were monitored by ash free dry weight (AFDW mg/L) and optical density (OD750) on a thermal-gradient incubator. Night biomass loss rates were highly variable (ranging from -0.006 to -0.59 day -1), species-specific, and dependent on both culture growth phase prior to the dark period and night pond temperature. At observed loss rates, between ca. 1 to 22% of the total ash-free biomass was lost over the ten hour dark period. Substantial night biomass losses can significantly impact the biomass production capacity of solar-based algae cultures. The dynamics of biomass loss should be taken into consideration in algae strain selection, are critical in predictive modeling of biomass production based on geographic location and can influence the net productivity of photosynthetic cultures used for bio-based fuels or products.

Authors:
;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
OSTI Identifier:
1224381
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1225138; OSTI ID: 1581791
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-108573
Journal ID: ISSN 2211-9264; S2211926415300862; PII: S2211926415300862
Grant/Contract Number:  
EE0006269; AC05-76RL01830; ee0006269
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Published Article
Journal Name:
Algal Research
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Algal Research Journal Volume: 12 Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 2211-9264
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; microalgae; respiration; metabolism; photosynthetic productivity; predictive modeling; strain characterization; biomass decay

Citation Formats

Edmundson, Scott J., and Huesemann, Michael H. The dark side of algae cultivation: Characterizing night biomass loss in three photosynthetic algae, Chlorella sorokiniana, Nannochloropsis salina and Picochlorum sp.. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1016/j.algal.2015.10.012.
Edmundson, Scott J., & Huesemann, Michael H. The dark side of algae cultivation: Characterizing night biomass loss in three photosynthetic algae, Chlorella sorokiniana, Nannochloropsis salina and Picochlorum sp.. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2015.10.012
Edmundson, Scott J., and Huesemann, Michael H. 2015. "The dark side of algae cultivation: Characterizing night biomass loss in three photosynthetic algae, Chlorella sorokiniana, Nannochloropsis salina and Picochlorum sp.". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2015.10.012.
@article{osti_1224381,
title = {The dark side of algae cultivation: Characterizing night biomass loss in three photosynthetic algae, Chlorella sorokiniana, Nannochloropsis salina and Picochlorum sp.},
author = {Edmundson, Scott J. and Huesemann, Michael H.},
abstractNote = {Night biomass loss in photosynthetic algae is an essential parameter that is often overlooked when modeling or optimizing biomass productivities. Night respiration acts a tax on daily biomass gains and has not been well characterized in the context of biofuel production. We examined the night biomass loss in three algae strains that may have potential for commercial biomass production (Nannochloropsis salina- CCMP1776, Chlorella sorokiniana- DOE1412, and Picochlorum sp. LANL-WT). Biomass losses were monitored by ash free dry weight (AFDW mg/L) and optical density (OD750) on a thermal-gradient incubator. Night biomass loss rates were highly variable (ranging from -0.006 to -0.59 day -1), species-specific, and dependent on both culture growth phase prior to the dark period and night pond temperature. At observed loss rates, between ca. 1 to 22% of the total ash-free biomass was lost over the ten hour dark period. Substantial night biomass losses can significantly impact the biomass production capacity of solar-based algae cultures. The dynamics of biomass loss should be taken into consideration in algae strain selection, are critical in predictive modeling of biomass production based on geographic location and can influence the net productivity of photosynthetic cultures used for bio-based fuels or products.},
doi = {10.1016/j.algal.2015.10.012},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1224381}, journal = {Algal Research},
issn = {2211-9264},
number = C,
volume = 12,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2015.10.012

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 86 works
Citation information provided by
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