Enhancing high-density microalgae cultivation via exogenous supplementation of biostimulant derived from onion peel waste for sustainable biodiesel productionShow others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Journal of Environmental Management, ISSN 0301-4797, E-ISSN 1095-8630, Vol. 359, article id 120988Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Microalgae demonstrate significant potential as a source of liquid-based biofuels. However, increasing biomass productivity in existing cultivation systems is a critical prerequisite for their successful integration into large-scale operations. Thus, the current work aimed to accelerate the growth of C. vulgaris via exogenous supplementation of biostimulant derived from onion peel waste. Under the optimal growth conditions, which entailed a biostimulant dosage of 37.5% v/v, a pH of 3, an air flow rate of 0.4 L/min, and a 2% v/v inoculum harvested during the mid-log phase, yielded a maximum biomass concentration of 1.865 g/L. Under the arbitrarily optimized parameters, a comparable growth pattern was evident in the upscaled cultivation of C. vulgaris, underscoring the potential commercial viability of the biostimulant. The biostimulant, characterized through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, revealed a composition rich in polyphenolic and organo-sulphur compounds, notably including allyl trisulfide (28.13%), methyl allyl trisulfide (23.04%), and allyl disulfide (20.78%), showcasing potent antioxidant properties. Additionally, microalgae treated with the biostimulant consistently retained their lipid content at 18.44% without any significant reduction. Furthermore, a significant rise in saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was observed, with C16:0 and C18:1 dominating both bench-scale (44.08% and 14.01%) and upscaled (51.12% and 13.07%) microalgae cultures, in contrast to the control group where C18:2 was prevalent. Consequently, SFA contents reached 54.35% and 65.43% in bench-scale and upscaled samples respectively, compared to 33.73% in the control culture. These compositional characteristics align well with the requirements for producing high-quality crude biodiesel.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2024. Vol. 359, article id 120988
Keywords [en]
Microalgae, Biomass, Biostimulant, Onion peel waste, Biodiesel
National Category
Biochemistry Molecular Biology Microbiology Agricultural Science
Research subject
Chemical Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-100103DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120988ISI: 001289131000001PubMedID: 38701587Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85191945090OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kau-100103DiVA, id: diva2:1869824
2024-06-132024-06-132025-02-20Bibliographically approved