Optimization of Producing Liquid Fuel from Photosynthetic Algal Growth

The green alga, Dunaliella salina under fed-batch cultivation produced 51.12 mg of hydrocarbon per liter with maintaining 0.313 (g dry wt/l). About 20% of hydrocarbon production yield based on dry biomass was obtained from both batch and fed-batch processes. Optimum culture conditions of light intensity, pH and salt concentration were obtained as 0.0080 (kJ/$cm^2$/h), 8.0 and 1.4 (g of NaCl/l), respectively by response surface analysis. The production of hydrocarbons in D. salina was closely correlated to cell growth. Fed-batch cultivation produced more hydrocarbons and maintained better cell growth than a batch process.