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Chlorella minutissima—A Promising Fuel Alga for Cultivation in Municipal Wastewaters

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Abstract

It is imperative to slash the cost of algal oil to less than $50 bbl−1 for successful algal biofuel production. Use of municipal wastewater for algal cultivation could obviate the need for freshwater and the nutrients—N and P. It would also add CO2 through bacterial activity. Chlorella minutissima Fott et Nova dominated the entire phycoflora year around and through each stage of the wastewater treatment at the oxidation pond system of Wazirabad (Delhi) in India. The ability to grow so profusely in such varied and contrasting situations made this alga unique. Besides pollution tolerance, it grew heterotrophically in dark under acidic conditions and as a mixotroph in presence of light over a range of organic C substrates. It could utilize both ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen, survived anaerobicity, 5% NaCl and −10 bar of osmotic stress. C. minutissima grew at pH 4–11 and raised the pH set initially by 1 to 3 units in 7.5 h. It showed gigantism and largely kept afloat in presence of utilizable organic carbon, while flocculated in mineral medium and on aging. The alga also possessed potential for biofuel production. The studied parameters indicate why C. minutissima was a potential biomass builder in municipal sewage and could be used to determine which other alga(e) may serve the purpose.

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Acknowledgment

Authors are grateful to the Dean, PG School, IARI, New Delhi and Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program of the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA for providing financial and academic support for the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Ashish Bhatnagar, Senthil Chinnasamy & K. C. Das

  2. Satellite Centre for Microalgal Biodiversity in Arid Zones of Rajasthan, Department of Microbiology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, 305 009, India

    Monica Bhatnagar

Authors
  1. Ashish Bhatnagar
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  2. Monica Bhatnagar
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  3. Senthil Chinnasamy
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  4. K. C. Das
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Correspondence to Ashish Bhatnagar.

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Bhatnagar, A., Bhatnagar, M., Chinnasamy, S. et al. Chlorella minutissima—A Promising Fuel Alga for Cultivation in Municipal Wastewaters. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 161, 523–536 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-009-8771-0

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