Influence of Nitrogen to Phosphorus Ratio and CO Concentration on Lipids Accumulation of Scenedesmus dimorphus for Bioenergy Production and CO Biofixation.

The potential of Scenedesmus dimorphus microalgae for CO biofixation and lipid biosynthesis for bioenergy applications was evaluated in this study. Batch experiments were conducted using synthetic tertiary municipal wastewater samples at several nitrogen to phosphorus (NP) ratios (1 : 1 to 8 : 1) and CO concentrations (∼0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% CO in supplied air). Scenedesmus dimorphus was cultivated for 25 days and the growth is highly dependent on the CO concentration and the NP ratio. An NP ratio of 2 : 1 produces a biomass yield of 733 mg/L when the microalga culture was supplied with air enriched with 2% CO . The maximum CO biofixation rate of 49.6 mg L  d is at an NP ratio of 8 : 1 with 4% CO . A colorimetric technique depending on sulpho-phospho-vanillin (SPV) was utilized for the determination of the intracellular lipid content. The highest lipid content of 31.6% as the dry weight of the biomass is at an NP ratio of 1 : 1 and 6% CO . These results indicate that supplementation of suitable CO with favorable NP ratio has a considerable effect on lipid accumulation in the microalgae Scenedesmus dimorphus biomass.