title: The Use of the Schizonticidal Agent Quinine Sulfate to Prevent Pond Crashes for Algal-Biofuel Production.
abstract: Algal biofuels are investigated as a promising alternative to petroleum fuel sources to satisfy transportation demand. Despite the high growth rate of algae, predation by rotifers, ciliates, golden algae, and other predators will cause an algae in open ponds to crash. In this study, Chlorella kessleri was used as a model alga and the freshwater rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, as a model predator. The goal of this study was to test the selective toxicity of the chemical, quinine sulfate (QS), on both the alga and the rotifer in order to fully inhibit the rotifer while minimizing its impact on algal growth. The QS LC50 for B. calyciflorus was 17 µM while C. kessleri growth was not inhibited at concentrations <25 µM. In co-culture, complete inhibition of rotifers was observed when the QS concentration was 7.7 µM, while algal growth was not affected. QS applications to produce 1 million gallons of biodiesel in one year are estimated to be $0.04/gallon or ~1% of Bioenergy Technologies Office's (BETO) projected cost of $5/gge (gallon gasoline equivalent). This provides algae farmers an important tool to manage grazing predators in algae mass cultures and avoid pond crashes.
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 200 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. xuchunyan92@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 200 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. kk.wu@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Kangyan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 200 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. steven.van.ginkel@ce.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Steve W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Van Ginkel
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 200 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. thomas.igou@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Igou
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 200 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. hlee702@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Hwa Jong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 200 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. abhargava38@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Aditya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhargava
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 201 Cherry-Emerson, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. terry.snell@biology.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 201 Cherry-Emerson, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. rachel.johnston@biology.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Snell
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 200 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30313, USA. yongsheng.chen@ce.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056804:Biofuels; D000458:Cyanobacteria; D061005:Ponds; D011803:Quinine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D012403:Rotifera / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D011803:Quinine
keywords: algae pond crash; biodiesel production; quinine sulfate; rotifer; toxicity