Algae biofilm growth and the potential to stimulate lipid accumulation through nutrient starvation

•A system was developed to study the growth kinetics of algal biofilms.•Algal biofilm growth kinetics are linear.•Nutrient starvation caused sloughing and/or growth cessation of algae biofilms.•Nutrient starvation did not increase in algal biofilm lipid concentrations.•Algal biofilm lipid productivities were comparable to terrestrial biofuel sources. An algae biofilm growth system was developed to study the growth kinetics and neutral lipid productivities of Scenedesmus obliquus and Nitzschia palea, and to determine if algal biofilms can be starved of key nutrients to increase their neutral lipid concentrations. Linear growth curves were determined for each species until nutrient starvation commenced, at which point growth ceased and/or biofilms sloughed from their substratum. Nutrient starvation did not increase neutral lipid concentrations in any of the biofilms; however, it approximately doubled their lipid concentrations when grown in suspension. Biomass productivities of 2.8 and 2.1g/m2/d and lipid productivities of 0.45 and 0.18g/m2/d were determined for N. palea and S. obliquus, respectively. The results suggest that nutrient starvation of biofilms is not a desirable method of lipid production for algae biofilm biofuel production systems, but that lipid production rates compare favorably with conventional terrestrial biofuel sources.