Intrinsic kinetic model of photoautotrophic microalgae based on chlorophyll fluorescence analysis

•A intrinsic kinetic model for microalgae under photoautotrophic condition is proposed.•The model relies on growth kinetics determination and chlorophyll fluorescence analysis which can effectively monitor the state of the photosynthetic apparatus of microalgae in the process of biotechnological cultivation.•The model can model can realistically reflect the light energy utilization efficiency of microalgae as well as their intrinsic growth kinetic characteristics. As photoautotrophic microorganisms, microalgae feature complex mechanisms of photosynthesis and light energy transfer and as such studying their intrinsic growth kinetics is fairly difficult. In this article, the quantum yield of photochemical reaction was introduced in a study of microalgal kinetics to establish an intrinsic kinetic model of photoautotrophic microalgal growth. The blue-green algae Synechococcus sp. PCC7942 was used to verify the kinetic model developed using chlorophyll fluorescence analysis and growth kinetics determination. Results indicate that the kinetic model can realistically reflect the light energy utilization efficiency of microalgae as well as their intrinsic growth kinetic characteristics. The model and method proposed in this article may be utilized in intrinsic kinetics studies of photoautotrophic microorganisms.