Biomass and lipid enhancement in Chlorella sp. with emphasis on biodiesel quality assessment through detailed FAME signature

In this study, the concentrations of MgSO4, salinity and light intensity were optimised for maximum
biomass productivity and lipid content in Chlorella sp. Lipid synthesized at varied experimental condi-
tions was also assessed in detail for biodiesel properties through FAME analysis. FAMEs mainly composed
of C16:0, C16:1(9), C16:3(7, 10, 13), C18:0, C18:1(11), C18:2(9, 12), C18:3(9, 12, 15). The optimum bio-
mass productivity (372.50 mg L�1 d�1) and lipid content (32.57%) was obtained at MgSO4-150 ppm;
salinity-12.5 ppm, and light intensity-25 lmol m�2 s�1. However, at this condition the cetane number,
a major biodiesel property was not complying with worldwide biodiesel standard. Therefore, further
optimisations were done to check the suitability of biodiesel fuel. The optimum biomass productivity
(348.47 mg L�1 d�1) and lipid content (12.43%) with suitable biodiesel fuel properties was obtained at
MgSO4-50 ppm, salinity-25 ppm and light intensity-100 lmol m�2 s�1. The validation experiments
confirmed the closeness of predicted and measured response values.