• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.386-391
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• 2021

The formation of CaCO₃ in microalgal culture is investigated and applied for effective separation of microalgae. The presence of several cationic ions in the culture medium mediates the formation of 3 types of mineral precipitates depending on the concentration of mineral precursors, Ca²⁺ and CO₃^2-, amorphous nano-flakes, rhombohedral calcites, and spherical vaterites. While amorphous phased precipitates are formed for all concentrations of mineral precursor, only calcites are formed for 30 mM solutions of mineral precursor, and mixtures of calcites and vaterites are formed for 50 and 100 mM solutions of mineral precursor. The harvesting efficiency is also dependent on the concentration of the mineral precursor: from 90 % for 10 mM to 99 % for 100 mM after 60 mins' of gravitational sedimentation. The formation of nano-flakes on the surface of microalgal cells induces the flocculation of microalgae by breaking the stable dispersion. The negatively charged surface of the microalgal cell is compatible not only with nano-flake attachment but also with the growth of calcitic crystals in which microalgal cells are embedded.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.854-866
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• 2016

The production cost of biodiesel from microalgae is still not competitive, compared with that of petroleum fuels. The genetic improvement of microalgal strains to increase triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation is one way to reduce production costs. One of the most promising approaches is the isolation of starch-deficient mutants, which have been reported to successfully increase TAG yields. To date, such a stable mutant is not available in an oleaginous marine microalga, despite several advantages of using marine species for biodiesel production. Algae in the genus Dunaliella are known to tolerate high salt concentration and other environmental stresses. In addition, the cultivation processes for large-scale outdoor commercialization have been well established for this genus. In this study, Dunaliella tertiolecta was used to screen for starch-deficient mutants, using an iodine vapor-staining method. Four out of 20,016 UV-mutagenized strains showed a substantial reduction of starch content. A significantly higher TAG content, up to 3-fold of the wild-type level, was observed in three of the mutants upon induction by nitrogen depletion. The carotenoid production and growth characteristics of these mutants, under both normal and oxidative stress conditions, were not compromised, suggesting that these processes are not necessarily affected by starch deficiency. The results from this work open up new possibilities for exploring Dunaliella for biodiesel production.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.630-637
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• 2018

The high rate algal ponds (HRAP) powered and mixed by a paddlewheel have been widely used for over 50 years to culture microalgae for the production of various products. Since light incidence is limited to the surface, water depth can affect microalgal growth in HRAP. To investigate the effect of water depth on microalgal growth, a mixed microalgal culture constituting three major strains of microalgae including Chlorella sp., Scenedesmus sp., and Stigeoclonium sp. (CSS), was grown at different water depths (20, 30, and 40 cm) in the HRAP, respectively. The HRAP with 20cm of water depth had about 38% higher biomass productivity per unit area ($6.16{\pm}0.33g{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}d^{-1}$) and required lower nutrients and energy consumption than the other water depths. Specifically, the algal biomass of HRAP under 20cm of water depth had higher settleability through larger floc size (83.6% settleability within 5 min). These results indicate that water depth can affect the harvesting process as well as cultivation of microalgae. Therefore, we conclude that water depth is an important parameter in HRAP design for mass cultivation of microalgae.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.27-34
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• 2023

In this study, microalgal oil was extracted from Nannochloropsis oceanica cultured in an open raceway pond and converted into biodiesel using a solid acid catalyst. Microalgal oil was extracted from two types of microalgae with and without nitrogen starvation using the KOH-solvent extraction method and the fatty acid content and oil extraction yield from each microalgae were compared. The fatty acid content of N. oceanica was 184.8 mg/g cell under basic conditions, and the oil content increased to 340.1 mg/g under nitrogen starvation conditions. Oil extraction yields were 90.8 and 95.4% in the first extraction, and increased to 97.5 and 98.8% after the second extraction. Microalgal oil extracted by KOH-solvent extraction was yellow in color and had reduced viscosity due to chlorophyll removal. In biodiesel conversion using the catalyst SO₄^2-/HZSM-5, solvent-extracted oil showed a FAME content of 4.8%, while KOH-solvent-extracted oil showed a FAME content of 90.4%. Solid acid catalyst application has been made easier by removal of chlorophyll from microalgal oil. The FAME content increased to 96.6% upon distillation, and the oxidation stability increased to 11.07 h with addition of rapeseed biodiesel and 1,000 ppm butylated hydroxyanisole.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.418-424
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• 2005

The complexity of the biological system/biological systems has been fascinating and challenging for a long time. With the advent of mathematical tools with various omics technology, systems biology was born and is already ubiquitous in every area of biology and biotechnology. Microalgal biotechnology is no exception in this new trend. As tens of microalgal genomes become publicly available on the Internet, vast amounts of data from genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics are reported everyday. Though there has not yet been enough data gathered on microalgal metabolomics, the in silica models for relatively simple cyanobacteria or for organelles, such as chloroplasts, will appear presently. With the help of systems biology, a more in-depth understanding of microalgae will be possible. Consequently, most industrially-interested microalgae can be metabolically redesigned/reconfigured as cell factories. Microalgae will be served as the hosts in white biotechnology.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 1999

This study was performed to investigate the optimum microalgal culture conditions using flask culture and to find the feasibility of using the flue gas of the rice husk incinerator for cultivating the microalgae. The optimum initial pH of media was 4.5 for the microalgae culture, and the intermittently illuminated culture was more effective than the continuous illuminated culture. Thus, the balance between photosynthesis and formative metabolism must be considered thoroughly to cultivate microalgal cells. The optimum CO2 concentrations were in the range of 7 to 10%, and the optimum temperature was about 35$^{\circ}C$ in both the daytime and the nighttime for the culture. When flue gas of the rice husk incinerator was applied to the microalgae culture using stirred photobioreactor, the dry cell weight was 0.026 g dry biomass/hr$.$l. The results obtained in experiments indicated that the flue gas was effective for microalgae culture without any limitations.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.229-241
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• 2018

Microalgae are likely to become a part of our everyday diet in the near future as they are considered to be rich in proteins, carbohydrates, and high density lipoproteins. They will play a pivotal role in the food cycle of many people around the globe. Use of microalgae in treating wastewater is also one of the disciplines which are luring researchers as this contributes to a sustainable way of exploiting resources while keeping the environment safe. In addition, microalgal biomass also has the potential to be used as a feedstock for producing biofuel, bio fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and other bio-based products. This review presents the different value-added products obtained from microalgal biomass and the applicability of these products commercially.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.293-303
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• 2012

Growth and survival (%) of the larvae and spats of Scapharca broughtonii fed on three different microalgal species (Isochrysis galbana, Pavlova lutheri and Chaetoceros simplex) were investigated with the analysis of fatty acid composition. The larvae fed on mixed diet with three microalgal species showed the highest growth in shell length ($261.3{\pm}13.5{\mu}m$) and survival ($27.4{\pm}5.3%$). The growth and survival (%) of the larvae fed on the single diet with C. simplex were significantly higher than those of the larvae fed on I. galbana or P. lutheri (P < 0.05). The growth and survival (%) of S. broughtonii spats reared for 30 days were also highest in the mixed diet group with $1,114.8{\pm}128.0{\mu}m$ and $61.3{\pm}5.5%$, respectively, and followed by C. simplex, I. galbana and P. lutheri. With respect to composition of fatty acid of the single or mixed microalgal diet, the content of PUFA and n-3 HUFA were the highest in C. simplex. This result can be considered as the reason for high growth and survival (%) of the larvae and the spats. C. simplex was the best species as the single diet, but the mixed diet with three microalgal species showed better dietary value than single diet did for the larvae and spat of S. broughtonii.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.236-240
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• 2004

Korean wastewaters have higher nitrogen concentrations than typical wastewaters of other countries. Most treatment processes such as activated sludge processes will need to supplement extra carbon sources for a complete removal of remaining nitrogen after the initial wastewater treatment, Because of these difficult matters, we have searched wastewater treatment methods that require no additional carbon sources. Wastewater treatment by microalgae in photobioreactors, using a green eukaryotic microalgae, Chlorella kessleri, showed a promising results and thus was selected to study further. This system is not intended to replace the conventional system but is to assist the existing biological treatment systems as a supplemental nitrogen removal process. Thus the secondary treated livestock wastewater was tested. Column type photobioreactors developed in our laboratory were used. When aerated with 5% CO$_2$ balanced with air at 1 vvm and illuminated at 100 ${\mu}$mol/㎡/s under 25$^{\circ}C$ and PH 7-8 by CO$_2$ buffering effect, the maximum nitrogen removal rate was 2.6 mg/L/hr. The results confirmed a possibility of microalgal wastewater treatment system as a secondary system to remove extra nitrogen sources. Based on these experimental results, the size of the optimal microalgal wastewater system was calculated. For the wastewater whose initial nitrogen concentration of 150 mg/L, the optimal batch system was found to be a 2 stage system with a combined retention time of 4.6 day. From the continuous experiments, nitrogen removal rates were examined under different dilution rates and 2 stage system was also found to be the optimal system. The combined retention time for the continuous system was 3.5 days. It is expected that conventional biological wastewater treatment systems followed by microalgal systems would reliably decrease the nitrogen concentration below the government criteria even for the livestock wastewater with low C/N ratio.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 2011

Even though ark shell, Scapharca broughtonii is commercially important species, its artificial seed production is not yet fully developed. This study was carried out to understand the effect of three microalgal species on gonadal development and sex maturation of S. broughtonii in terms of broodstock management and food organism. Isochrysis galbana, Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Tetraselmis tetrathele were supplied to S. broughtonii broodstock in single or mixed. And condition index, gonadal development, sexual maturation and survival of the broodstock were analysed. After 45 rearing days, frequency of ripe stage of gonadal phases, rate of induced sexual maturation and survival of S. broughtonii broodstock fed mixed diet with 3 microalgal species or single diet of T. tetrathele were the highest.