• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1235-1243
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• 2020

The use of microalgal biomass as feedstock for biofuels has been discussed for decades as it provides a sustainable approach to producing fuels for the future. Nonetheless, its feasibility has not been established yet and various aspects of biomass applications such as CO₂ biofixation should also be explored. Therefore, in this study, the CO₂ biofixation and lipid/carbohydrate production potential of Chlorella sp. ABC-001 were examined under various nitrogen concentrations. The highest biomass productivity and CO₂ biofixation rate of 0.422 g/l/d and 0.683 g/l/d, respectively, were achieved under a nitrogen-rich condition (15 mM nitrate). Carbohydrate content was generally proportional to initial nitrate concentration and showed the highest value of 41.5% with 15 mM. However, lipid content showed an inverse relationship with nitrogen supplementation and showed the highest value of 47.4% with 2.5 mM. In consideration as feedstock for biofuels (bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas), the sum of carbohydrate and lipid contents were examined and the highest value of 79.6% was achieved under low nitrogen condition (2.5 mM). For lipid-based biofuel production, low nitrogen supplementation should be pursued. However, considering the lower feasibility of biodiesel, pursuing CO₂ biofixation and the production of carbohydrate-based fuels under nitrogen-rich condition might be more rational. Thus, nitrogen status as a cultivation strategy must be optimized according to the objective, and this was confirmed with the promising alga Chlorella sp. ABC-001.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.746-752
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• 2018

In this study, an optimized process for the waste cooking oil based biodiesel production using microwave energy was designed by using Box-Behnken design model. The process variables were chosen as a mole ratio of the methanol to oil, microwave power, and reaction time. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content was then measured. Through the results of basic experiments, the range of optimum operation variables for the Box-Behnken design model, such as the methanol/oil mole ratio and reaction time, were set as between 8 to 10 and between 4 to 6 min, respectively. Ranges of the microwave power were set as from 8 to 12 W/g for 1.30 mg of KOH/g, acid value, while from 10 to 14 W/g for 2.00 mg of KOH/g, acid value. The optimum methanol/oil mole ratio, microwave power, and reaction time were reduced to 7.58, 10.26 W/g, and 5.1 min, respectively, for 1.30 mg KOH/g of acid value. Also, the optimum methanol/oil mole ratio, microwave power, and reaction time were 7.78, 12.18 W/g, and 5.1 min, respectively, for 2.00 mg KOH/g of acid value. Predicted FAME contents were 98.4% and 96.3%, with error rates of less than 0.3%. Therefore, when the optimized process of biodiesel production using microwave energy was applied to the Box-Behnken design model, the low error rate could be obtained.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.271-278
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• 2019

Mass cultivation of microalgae is necessary to achieve economically feasible production of microalgal biodiesel. However, the high cost of nutrients is a major limitation. In this study, corncob extract (CCE) was used as an inorganic and organic nutrient source for the mass cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris). Chemical composition analysis of CCE revealed that it contained sufficient nutrients for mixotrophic cultivation of C. vulgaris. The highest specific grow rate of C. vulgaris was obtained at pH of 7-8, temperature of $25-30^{\circ}C$, and CCE amount of 5 g/L. In the analysis using various growth models, Luong model was found to be the most suitable empirical formula for mass cultivation of C. vulgaris using CCE. Analysis of biomass and production of triacyglycerol showed that microalgae grown in CCE medium produced more than 17.23% and 3% more unsaturated fatty acids than cells cultured in Jaworski's Medium. These results suggest that growing microalgae in CCE-supplemented medium can increase lipid production. Therefore, CCE, agricultural byproduct, has potential use for mass cultivation of microalgae.

• Clean Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.313-319
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• 2013

To produce biodiesel efficiently from fish oil containing 4% free fatty acid, esterification and trans-esterification were carried out with Vietnam catfish oil, which was kindly provided from GS-bio company. Heterogeneous solid acid catalysts such as Amberlyst-15 and Amberlyst BD-20 and sulfuric acid as homogeneous acid catalyst were used for the esterification of free fatty acids in the fish oil. Sulfuric acid showed the highest removal efficiency of free fatty acid and the shortest reaction time among three acid catalysts. The base catalysts for trans-esterification such as KOH, $NaOCH_3$ and NaOH were compared with each other and KOH was determined to be the best transesterification catalyst. Some solid material, which assumed to be saponified product from glycerol and biodiesel, were observed to form in the fish oil biodiesel when using $NaOCH_3$ and NaOH as the transesterification catalyst. The initial acid value of fish oil was proven to have a negative effect on biodiesel conversion. Of the three catalysts, KOH catalyst transesterification was shown to have high content of FAME and the optimal ratio of methanol/oil ratio was identified to be 9:1.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.194-199
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• 2008

In this study, the effective method to esterify the free fatty acids in jatropha oil was examined. Compared to other plant oils, the acid value of jatropha oil was remarkably high, 11.5 mgKOH/g. So direct transesterification by a base catalyst was not suitable for the oil. After the free fatty acids were esterified with methanol, jatropha oil was transesterified. The activities of four solid acid catalysts were tested and Amberlyst-15 showed the best activity for the esterification. After constructing the experiment matrix based on RSM and analyzing the statistical data, the optimal esterification conditions were determined to be 6.79% of methanol and 17.14% of Amberlyst-15. After the pretreatment, jatropha biodiesel was produced by the transesterification using KOH in a pressurized batch reactor. Jatropha biodiesel produced could meet the major specifications of Korean biodiesel standards; 97.35% of FAME, 8.17 h of oxidation stability, 0.125% of total glycerol and $0^{\circ}C$ of CFPP.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1260-1268
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• 2013

A series of experiments were carried out with three native strains of microalgae to measure growth rates, biomass, and lipid productivities. Scenedesmus sp. IMMTCC-6 had better biomass growth rate and higher lipid production. The growth, lipid accumulation, and carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) consumption rate of Scenedesmus sp. IMMTCC-6 were tested under different NaOH concentrations in modified BBM. The algal strain showed the maximum specific growth rate (0.474/day), biomass productivity (110.9 mg $l^{-1}d^{-1}$), and $CO_2$ consumption rate (208.4 mg $l^{-1}d^{-1}$) with an NaOH concentration of 0.005 M on the $8^{th}$ day of cultivation. These values were 2.03-, 6.89-, and 6.88-fold more than the algal cultures grown in control conditions (having no NaOH and $CO_2$). The $CO_2$ fixing efficiency of the microalga with other alternative carbon sources like $Na_2CO_3$ and $NaHCO_3$ was also investigated and compared. The optimized experimental parameters at shake-flask scale were implemented for scaling up the process in a self-engineered photobioreactor. A significant increase in lipid accumulation (14.23% to 31.74%) by the algal strain from the logarithmic to stationary phases was obtained. The algal lipids were mainly composed of $C_{16}/C_{18}$ fatty acids, and are desirable for biodiesel production. The study suggests that microalga Scenedesmus sp. IMMTCC-6 is an efficient strain for biodiesel production and $CO_2$ biofixation using stripping solution of NaOH in a cyclic process.

• ALGAE
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.267-276
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• 2016

Microalgae are currently a very promising source of biomass and triacylglycerol (TAG) for biofuels. In a previous study, we identified Chlorella saccharophila as a suitable source of oil for biodiesel production because it showed high biomass and lipid content with an appropriate fatty acid methyl esters profile. To improve the TAG accumulation in C. saccharophila, in this study we evaluated the effect of abscisic acid (ABA) addition on cell concentration, lipid content and TAG production in this microalga. First, we evaluated the effects of four ABA concentrations (1, 4, 10, and 20 μM) added at the beginning of a single-stage cultivation strategy, and found that all concentrations tested significantly increased cell concentration and TAG content in C. saccharophila. We then evaluated the addition of 1 μM ABA during the second stage of a two-stage cultivation strategy and compared it with a nitrogen deficiency treatment (ND) and a combination of ND and ABA (ND + ABA). Although ABA alone significantly increased lipid and TAG contents compared with the control, ND showed significantly higher TAG content, and ND + ABA showed the highest TAG content. When comparing the results of both strategies, we found a superior response in terms of TAG accumulation with the addition of 1 μM ABA at the beginning of a single-stage cultivation system. This strategy is a simple and effective way to improve the TAG content in C. saccharophila and probably other microalgae as a feedstock for biodiesel production.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.92-98
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• 2013

Microalgal cultivation using wastewater is now regarded as essential for biodiesel production, as two goals can be achieved simultaneously; that is, nutrient removal efficiency and biomass production. Therefore, this study examined the effects of carbon sources, the N:P ratio, and the hydraulic retention time (HRT) to identify the optimal conditions for nutrient removal efficiency and biomass production. The effluent from a 2nd lagoon was used to cultivate microalgae. Whereas the algal species diversity and lipid content increased with a longer HRT, the algal biomass productivity decreased. Different carbon sources also affected the algal species composition. Diatoms were dominant with an increased pH when bicarbonate was supplied. However, 2% $CO_2$ gas led to a lower pH and the dominance of filamentous green algae with a much lower biomass productivity. Among the experiments, the highest chlorophyll-a concentration and lipid productivity were obtained with the addition of phosphate up to 0.5 mg/l P, since phosphorus was in short supply compared with nitrogen. The N and P removal efficiencies were also higher with a balanced N:P ratio, based on the addition of phosphate. Thus, optimizing the N:P ratio for the dominant algae could be critical in attaining higher algal growth, lipid productivity, and nutrient removal efficiency.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

This research investigated the preparation of activated carbon derived from Krabok (Irvingia malayana) seed shells to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained during biodiesel production. The activated carbon was prepared using a dry chemical activation method with NaOH, utilizing an innovative biomass incinerator. The results revealed that the resulting KC/AC-two-step exhibited favorable physicochemical adsorption properties, with a high surface area of 758.72 m²/g and an iodine number of 611.10 mg/g. These values meet the criteria of the industrial product standard for activated carbon No. TIS 900-2004, as specified by the Ministry of Industry in Thailand. Additionally, the adsorption efficiency for methylene blue reached an impressive 99.35 %. This developed activated carbon was then used to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained from biodiesel production. The experimental results showed that the KC/AC-two-step increased the purity of crude glycerol to 73.61 %. In comparison, commercially available activated carbon (C/AC) resulted in a higher crude glycerol purity of 81.19 %, as analyzed by the GC technique. Additionally, the metal content (Zn, Cu, Fe, Pb, Cd, and Na) in purified glycerol using KC/AC-two-step was below the standards for heavy metals permitted in food and cosmeceuticals by the Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and the European Committee for Food Contact Materials and Articles. As a result, it can be inferred that Krabok seed shells have favorable properties for producing activated carbon suitable as an adsorbent to enhance crude glycerol purity. Furthermore, the improved crude glycerol from this research has potential for various industrial applications.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.910-917
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• 2015

A total of 646 strains, including green algae and diatoms, were isolated from 220 samples to screen microalgae with high lipid productivity (LP). The samples were obtained from nine habitats in Northern Xinjiang, China in June 2013. This study initially identified eight lipidrich strains, namely, Desmodesmus intermedius XJ-498, D. intermedius XJ-145, D. intermedius XJ-99, Monoraphidium pusillum XJ-489, M. dybowskii XJ-435, M. dybowskii XJ-151, Mychonastes homosphaera XJ-488, and Podohedriella falcata XJ-176, based on 18S rDNA sequencing. The strains were cultured in a photobioreactor for the same period. Results showed that the specific growth rate (day^-1) of M. pusillum XJ-489 was the highest (1.14 ± 0.06), and the biomass concentration (g/l) of D. intermedius XJ-99 was the highest (2.84 ± 0.3). Futhermore, the lipid content (%) of M. dybowskii XJ-151 was the highest (33.5 ± 4.38), and the lipid productivity (mg l^-1 day^-1) of My. homosphaera XJ-488 was the highest (86.41 ± 9.04). C16 to C18 accounted for 86% to 98% of the total lipid, and the biodiesel qualities of the selected algae corresponded to international standards. This study suggests that My. homosphaera XJ-488, D. intermedius XJ-99, and M. dybowskii XJ-151 are the most potential strains for biodiesel production among all the isolated strains.