title: Chlorella minutissima--a promising fuel alga for cultivation in municipal wastewaters.
abstract: It is imperative to slash the cost of algal oil to less than $50 bbl(-1) for successful algal biofuel production. Use of municipal wastewater for algal cultivation could obviate the need for freshwater and the nutrients--N and P. It would also add CO2 through bacterial activity. Chlorella minutissima Fott et Nova dominated the entire phycoflora year around and through each stage of the wastewater treatment at the oxidation pond system of Wazirabad (Delhi) in India. The ability to grow so profusely in such varied and contrasting situations made this alga unique. Besides pollution tolerance, it grew heterotrophically in dark under acidic conditions and as a mixotroph in presence of light over a range of organic C substrates. It could utilize both ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen, survived anaerobicity, 5% NaCl and-10 bar of osmotic stress. C. minutissima grew at pH 4-11 and raised the pH set initially by 1 to 3 units in 7.5 h. It showed gigantism and largely kept afloat in presence of utilizable organic carbon, while flocculated in mineral medium and on aging. The alga also possessed potential for biofuel production. The studied parameters indicate why C. minutissima was a potential biomass builder in municipal sewage and could be used to determine which other alga(e) may serve the purpose.
authors.affiliation: Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. bhatnagarashis@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.forename: Senthil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chinnasamy
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D002708:Chlorella / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D056804:Biofuels; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D012722:Sewage; D005947:Glucose; D009584:Nitrogen