Heterotrophic culture trials on marine microalga, Chaetoceros species for biodiesel production

Abstract

Biodiesel was once developing in the early 1940s, however during the late 1940s, in terms of price and quality, biodiesel was being discredited by public for petroleum. But later, continued use of petroleum was known to be unsustainable due to intensified air pollution and magnified global warming. This helped biodiesel to regain back its confidence from the public. Since biodiesel was being established in numerous countries, potential raw material is crucially needed and experts have proven that microalgae as the most promising source for biodiesel production. However, cultivation method commonly used in microalgae industry was not able to satisfy the demand. Thus, an alternative method is needed. In this present study, the marine diatom, Chaetoceros sp. was selected and cultured using heterotrophic cultivation. The aim of this study is to determine (1) whether the marine diatom, Chaetoceros sp. can survive heterotrophically and (2) the glucose concentration (0.0 g.L- 1 , 12.5 g.L- 1 , 25.0 g.L- 1 , 50.0 g.L- 1 , 75.0 g.L- 1 ) that was optimum for specific growth rate, total lipid and triacylglycerol content. Two heterotrophic cultivation trials were conducted in total darkness condition using Conway medium. Slightly higher growth rates were obtained in all heterotrophic cultures than autotrophic culture.