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Enabling large-scale production of algal oil in continuous output mode

Steve Slocombe, Maria Huete-Ortega, Rahul Vijay Kapoore, Katarzyna Okurowska, Alison Mair, John G. Day, Michele S. Stanley, Seetharaman Vaidyanathan

iScience, Volume: 24, Issue: 7, Start page: 102743

Swansea University Author: Steve Slocombe

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Abstract

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 sem...

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Published in: iScience
ISSN: 2589-0042
Published: Elsevier BV 2021
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65455
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Abstract: 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.
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: We are very grateful to Debra Brennan and Elaine Mitchell for technical assistance at SAMS. All other members of the project consortium, who did not directly participate in this study, are gratefully acknowledged for their indirect contributions. This work is a result of the UKRI BBSRC-DBT funded UK-India SuBB project (BB/K020633/1). S.V. also acknowledges financial support from UKRI EPSRC (EP/E036252/1) to Sheffield.
Issue: 7
Start Page: 102743