• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1460-1471
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• 2013

Microalgal biofuel production from wastewater has economic and environmental advantages. This article investigates the lipid production from high chemical oxygen demand (COD) bioethanol wastewater without dilution or additional nutrients, using a newly isolated heterotrophic microalga, Chlorella vulgaris LAM-Q. To enhance lipid accumulation, the combined effects of important operational parameters were studied via response surface methodology. The optimal conditions were found to be temperature of $22.8^{\circ}C$, initial pH of 6.7, and inoculum density of $1.2{\times}10^8cells/ml$. Under these conditions, the lipid productivity reached 195.96 mg/l/d, which was markedly higher than previously reported values in similar systems. According to the fatty acid composition, the obtained lipids were suitable feedstock for biodiesel production. Meanwhile, 61.40% of COD, 51.24% of total nitrogen, and 58.76% of total phosphorus were removed from the bioethanol wastewater during microalgal growth. In addition, 19.17% of the energy contained in the wastewater was transferred to the microalgal biomass in the fermentation process. These findings suggest that C. vulgaris LAM-Q can efficiently produce lipids from high-concentration bioethanol wastewater, and simultaneously performs wastewater treatment.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.71-75
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• 2010

Production of crude glycerol from biodiesel industry is expected to exceed the commercial demand for purified glycerol in the near future. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of co-digestion of crude glycerol with swine manure. Crude glycerol up to 13.8 g/L was regarded as a good co-substrate for swine manure digester. It improved methane production and productivity by 90% and 120%, respectively. Methane yield of crude glycerol at the condition was estimated to be 232 mL/g. However, it inhibited methanogenic activity at above 27.5 g/L. Optimum concentration of crude glycerol for co-digestion with swine manure would be near to 13.8 g/L.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.196-196
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• 2017

Oilseed crop Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) is a suitable for biodiesel production that has high adaptability under low-nutrient condition like marginal land and requires low-input cost for cultivation. Enhanced abiotic stress tolerance of Camelina is very important for oil production under the wide range of different climate. CsRCI2s (Rare Cold Inducible 2) are related proteins in various abiotic stresses that predicted to localized at plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These proteins are consist of eight-family that can be divided into tail (CsRCI2D/E/F/G) and no-tail (CsRCI2A/B/E/H) type of C-terminal. However, it is still less understood the function of C-terminal tail. In this study, CsRCI2D/H genes were cloned through gateway cloning system that used pCB302-3 as destination vector. And we used agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for generation of overexpression (OX) transformants. Overexpression of target gene was confirmed using RT-PCR and segregation ratio on selection media. We analyzed physiological response in media and soil under abiotic stresses using CsRCI2D and CsRCI2H overexpression plant. To compare abiotic stresses tolerance, wild type and CsRCI2D/H OX line seeds were sown on agar plate treated with various NaCl and mannitol concentration for 7 days. In the test of growth rate under abiotic stress on media, CsRCI2H OX line showed similar to NaCl and mannitol stress. In the other hand, CsRCI2D OX line showed to be improved stress tolerance that especially increased in 200mM NaCl but was similar on mannitol media. In greenhouse, WT and CsRCI2D/H OX lines for physiological analysis and productivity under abiotic stresses were treated 100, 150, 200mM NaCl. Then it was measured various parameters such as leaf width and length, plant height, total seed weight, flower number, seed number. CsRCI2H OX line in greenhouse did not show any changes in physiological parameters but CsRCI2D OX line was improved both physiological response and productivity under NaCl stress. Among physiological parameters of CsRCI2D OX line under NaCl stress, leaf length and width were observed shorter than WT but it were slightly longer than WT in 200mM NaCl stress. Furthermore, total seed weight of CsRCI2D OX line under stress displayed to decrease than WT in normal condition, but it was gradually raised with increasing NaCl stress then more than WT relatively. These results suggested CsRCI2D might be contribute to improve abiotic stress tolerance. However, function of CsRCI2H is need to more detail study. In conclusion, overexpression of CsRCI2s family can generate various environmental stress tolerance plant and may improve crop productivity for bio-energy production.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1137-1144
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• 2017

The microalgae Chlorella vulgaris has been considered an important alternative resource for biodiesel production. However, its industrial-scale production has been constrained by the low productivity of the biomass and lipid. To overcome this problem, we isolated and characterized a potentially economical oleaginous strain of C. vulgaris via the random mutagenesis technique using UV irradiation. Two types of mass production systems were compared for their yield of biomass and lipid content. Among the several putatively oleaginous strains that were isolated, the particular mutant strain designated as UBM1-10 in the laboratory showed an approximately 1.5-fold higher cell yield and lipid content than those from the wild type. Based on these results, UBM1-10 was selected and cultivated under outdoor conditions using two different types of reactors, a tubular-type photobioreactor (TBPR) and an open pond-type reactor (OPR). The results indicated that the mutant strain cultivated in the TBPR showed more than 5 times higher cell concentrations ($2.6g\;l^{-1}$) as compared to that from the strain cultured in the OPR ($0.5g\;l^{-1}$). After the mass cultivation, the cells of UBM1-10 and the parental strain were further investigated for crude lipid content and composition. The results indicate a 3-fold higher crude lipid content from UBM1-10 (0.3%, w/w) as compared to that from the parent strain (0.1% w/w). Therefore, this study demonstrated that the economic potential of C. vulgaris as a biodiesel production resource can be increased with the use of a photoreactor type as well as the strategic mutant isolation technique.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.687-697
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• 2015

With the shortage of edible fats and oils and depletion of fossil fuels in many countries, microbial lipids is emerging as one of the most promising sources of fats and oils in the global market. Oleaginous microorganisms, also called single cell oils (SCOs), can accumulate lipids more than 25% in the cell volume. Triacylglycerols are the major storage lipids. SCOs offer several advantages for lipid production as follows: SCOs have short life span which would shorten production time, cultivation conditions are not affected by climate and place; the production process is easy to control. There are a number of oleaginous yeasts, molds, and microalgae. Furthermore, the lipid productivity of SCOs can be enhanced through strain improvement and the optimization of cultivation conditions. The new strains developed using recent advanced biotechnical methods showed greatly improved oleaginicity. Further, hydrolysates of lignocellulosic materials can be used as carbon sources for economic production of SCO.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2014

The ocean provide great benefits for microalgal mass cultures with maintaining stable temperature due to high specific heat, mixing by wave energy, and providing large area for large-scale microalgae cultures. In this study, we cultivated a marine green microalga, Tetraselmis sp. KCTC12432BP, using marine photobioreactors on the ocean for investigating the effect of $NaHCO_3$ concentration on the biomass productivities and evaluating the potential of ocean microalgae culture. The culture medium consist of three fold concentrated f/2-Si with 4 g/L of $NaHCO_3$, which is dissolved in natural seawater. After 11 days of cultivation, the cultures reached stationary phase at biomass concentration of 1.6 g/L. At that time, $NaHCO_3$ concentration of 0, 2, and 4 g/L were fed to the cultures. The daily productivities of 0.11, 0.19, 0.30 g/L/day were attained with feeding rate of 0, 2, and 4 g/L $NaHCO_3$, respectively. Biomass productivity of Tetraselmis sp. KCTC12432BP was a function of the $NaHCO_3$ feeding rate as expected. This research shows that the microalgae can grow with $NaHCO_3$ as carbon source in marine photobioreactors on the ocean while exploiting various benefits of ocean cultivation.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.110-117
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• 2014

Recently microalgae have been proposed as a promising biodiesel feedstock, owing to their higher lipid productivity and non-arable land based cultivation system. Biomass and lipid productivities of microalgae are largely affected by various environmental and nutritional factors. In this study, the effects of nitrogen (nitrate and ammonium) and organic carbon (glucose and glycerol) sources on the cell growth and lipid production of Chlorella sp. KR-1 were examined in flask cultures. Under autotrophic culture conditions for 15 days, overall cell growth and lipid (fatty acid methyl ester, FAME) production with nitrate were better than those of ammonium, resulting in 1.06 g cell/L and 333 mg FAME/L, respectively. Maximal intracellular lipid contents (348 - 352 mg FAME/g cell) were observed at low concentrations of 1 mM for both nitrate and ammonium. In the supply of light, addition of glucose in the range of 1 - 20 g/L showed higher cell densities than the autotrophic cell growth condition. Higher lipid accumulation of 375 mg FAME/g cell could achieved at 5 g glucose/L albeit of relatively short incubation of 7 days. With glycerol, intracellular lipid contents were ~1.9 times lower than glucose cases although similar cell growths were observed for both carbon sources.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.952-961
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• 2019

Chlorella spp. are green algae that are found across wide-ranging habitats from deserts to arctic regions, with various strains having adapted to survive under diverse environmental conditions. In this study, two novel Chlorella strains (ABC-002, ABC-008) were isolated from a freshwater lake in South Korea during the winter season and examined for possible use in the biofuel production process. The comparison of ABC-002 and ABC-008 strains with Chlorella vulgaris UTEX265 under two different temperatures ($10^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$) revealed their cold-tolerant phenotypes as well as high biomass yields. The maximum quantum yields of UTEX25, ABC-002, and ABC-008 at $10^{\circ}C$ were 0.5594, 0.6747, and 0.7150, respectively, providing evidence of the relatively higher cold-resistance capabilities of these two strains. Furthermore, both the biomass yields and lipid content of the two novel strains were found to be higher than those of UTEX265; the overall lipid productivities of ABC-002 and ABC-008 were 1.7 ~ 2.8 fold and 1.6 ~ 4.2 fold higher compared to that of UTEX265, respectively. Thus, the high biomass and lipid productivity over a wide range of temperatures indicate that C. vulgaris ABC-002 and ABC-008 are promising candidates for applications in biofuel productions via outdoor biomass cultivation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.768-774
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• 2009

To improve the productivity of 1,3-propanediol(1,3-PD) with K. pneumoniae DSM4799 using pure glycerol and crude glycerol derived from the biodiesel process, optimizing fermentation conditions was performed by changing environmental factors such as anaerobic/aerobic condition, temperature, glycerol concentration, and pH. When anaerobic conditions were maintained, there was an improved 1,3-PD production compared with that from aerobic/anaerobic 2-stage fermentation. From the results with temperature $26{\sim}37^{\circ}C$, the higher 1,3-PD production yield was observed at $30{\sim}33^{\circ}C$. For an initial glycerol concentration higher than 60 g/L, cell growth and 1,3-PD production were inhibited. When crude glycerol was used, the initial 1,3-PD production appeared to be inhibited. After 48 hr of incubation, however, 1,3-PD production with crude glycerol was even higher than that with pure glycerol, demonstrating the feasibility of 1,3-PD production using crude glycerol as a substrate. Fed-batch fermentation was applied for the high concentration of 1,3-PD without substrate inhibition. By regulating pH at 7 during the fed-batch with glycerol lower than 40 g/L, the yield of 1,3-PD was 25% higher than that without pH regulation(0.56 g/g vs. 0.45 g/g). In conclusion, based on our results, anaerobic conditions, temperature at $30^{\circ}C$, pure or crude glycerol lower than 40 g/L, and pH regulation at 7 were the optimized conditions for 1,3-PD production using K. pneumoniae DSM4799, making it more feasible to produce 1,3-PD at higher concentration and a lower price.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.58-67
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• 2014

The outdoor mass cultivation is not possible for microalgae in Korea all year round, due to cold winter season. It is not easy to maintain proper level of productivity of microalgae even in winter. To prevent a drastic decrease of temperature in a greenhouse, two layers were covered additionally, inside the original plastic layer of the greenhouse. The middle layer was made up of plastic and the inner layer, of non-woven fabric. Acrylic transparent bioreactors were constructed to get more sunlight, not only from the upper side but also from the lateral and bottom directions. In winter at freezing temperatures, six different culture conditions were compared in the triply covered, insulated greenhouse. Wastewater after anaerobic digestion was used for the cultivation of microalgae to minimize the production cost. Water temperature in the bioreactors remained above $10^{\circ}C$ on average, even without any external heating system, proving that the triple-layered greenhouse is effective in keeping heat. Algal biomass reached to 0.37g $L^{-1}$ with the highest temperature, in the experimental group of light-reflection board at the bottom, with nitrogen and phosphorus removal rate of 92% and 99%, respectively. When fatty acid composition was analyzed using gas-chromatography, linoleate (C18 : 3n3) occupied the highest proportion up to 61%, in the all experiment groups. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), however, did not decrease during the cultivation, but rather increased. Although the algal biomass productivity was not comparable to warm seasons, it was possible to maintain water temperature for algae cultivation even in the coldest season, at the minimum cost.