Heterotrophic growth and oil production from Micractinium sp. ME05 using molasses

In this study the thermo-resistant green alga Micractinium sp . ME05 was cultivated in media containing molasses as a carbon source. Shake flask experiments and 2-L bioreactor experiments were conducted at different inoculum ratios, aeration rates, and agitation speeds. The experimental condition which resulted in the highest biomass concentration (3.73 ± 0.45 g L −1 ) with 10% inoculum in 500-mL flasks was scaled up to 2-L flasks at two aeration rates (0.25 and 0.5 L min −1 ). An increase in biomass concentration from 2.35 ± 0.53 to 3.06 ± 0.21 g L −1 was observed with an increase of aeration rate from 0.25 to 0.50 L min −1 , which demonstrated significant effect of aeration rate on biomass concentration ( p = 0.000