Biomass Production And Quality Estimation Of Chlorella Vulgaris (Clv2) Under Large Scale Production Conditions

Present study was conducted for large scale biomass production of Chlorella vulgaris CLV2. Further, level of lipid, crude protein, chlorophyll content were also analysed for this produced biomass. In this study, two carbon sources viz. Carbon dioxide (CO2) or Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and two light sources (sun light or light-emitting diodes LEDs) were used from mass culturing of C. vulgaris CLV2. The study was conducted in 15 L culture containers. Results of study revealed that in case of maximum dry biomass (DB) concentration, no significant difference was reported amongst the NaHCO3 with LED (0.72 +/- 0.04 g L-1) and sunlight (0.74 +/- 0.04 g L-1), while in case of crude protein and chlorophyll a+b concentrations a significant difference was reported among these two (49.8% and 22.61 mu g mL(-1), respectively) under normal autotrophic growth. Maximum lipid concentration (3.6%) was reported from the treatment containing NaHCO3 and LED. Further it was reported that lipid productivity (17.21 mg L-1 day(-1)) increased with the increasing biomass yield (477.78 mg L-1 day(-1)). Results of study revealed that C. vulgaris CLV2 biomass can be increased by manipulating carbon and light source. The final products can be used as biofuels (biomass, lipids) or human and animal feed supplement (proteins and chlorophyll).