TY - JOUR
T1 - Enabling large-scale production of algal oil in continuous output mode
AU - Slocombe, Stephen P.
AU - Huete-ortega, sheffield
AU - Kapoore, Rahul Vijay
AU - Okurowska, Katarzyna
AU - Mair, Alison
AU - Day, John G.
AU - Stanley, Michele S.
AU - Vaidyanathan, Seetharaman
N1 - © 2021 The Authors.
PY - 2021/7/23
Y1 - 2021/7/23
N2 - Large-scale algal oil production requires continuous outputs and a trade-off between growth and oil content. Two unrelated marine algae (Nannochloropsis oceanica [CCAP 849/10] and Chlorella vulgaris [CCAP 211/21A]) that showed high oil production under batch culture were studied under controlled semicontinuous cultivation conditions. Three essential attributes maximized oil productivity: (i) downregulation of cell size to maximize light absorption under N limitation; (ii) low nutrient-depletion thresholds to trigger oil induction; (iii) a means of carbohydrate suppression in favor of oil. N. oceanica responded better to input N/P variations and is more suited to continuous oil production. A low N/P ratio was effective in both suppressing carbohydrate and reducing cell size concomitant with oil production. In C. vulgaris, nutrient starvation thresholds for oil were higher and carbohydrate was preferentially induced, which impeded stress-level optimization for oil. These differences, which impact continuous oil production at scale, are driven by species adaptation to specific marine habitats.
AB - Large-scale algal oil production requires continuous outputs and a trade-off between growth and oil content. Two unrelated marine algae (Nannochloropsis oceanica [CCAP 849/10] and Chlorella vulgaris [CCAP 211/21A]) that showed high oil production under batch culture were studied under controlled semicontinuous cultivation conditions. Three essential attributes maximized oil productivity: (i) downregulation of cell size to maximize light absorption under N limitation; (ii) low nutrient-depletion thresholds to trigger oil induction; (iii) a means of carbohydrate suppression in favor of oil. N. oceanica responded better to input N/P variations and is more suited to continuous oil production. A low N/P ratio was effective in both suppressing carbohydrate and reducing cell size concomitant with oil production. In C. vulgaris, nutrient starvation thresholds for oil were higher and carbohydrate was preferentially induced, which impeded stress-level optimization for oil. These differences, which impact continuous oil production at scale, are driven by species adaptation to specific marine habitats.
U2 - 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102743
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102743
M3 - Article
SN - 2589-0042
VL - 24
JO - iScience
JF - iScience
IS - 7
M1 - 102743
ER -