• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.328-336
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• 1999

A green microalga, Chlorella vulgaris UTX 259, was cultivated in a bench-scale raceway pond. During the culture, 15%(v/v) $CO_2$ was supplied and industrial wastewater discharged from a steel-making plant was used as a culture medium. In a small scale culture bottle, the microalga grew up to 1.8 g $dm^{-3}$ of cell concentration and ammonia was completely removed from the wastewater with an yield coefficient of 25.7 g dry cell weight $g^{-1}\;NH_3-N$. During the bottle-culture, microalga was dominant over heterotrophic microorganisms in the culture medium. Therefore, the amount of carbon dioxide fixation could be estimated from the change of dry cell weight. In a semi-continuous operation of raceway pond with intermittent lighting (12 h light and 12 h dark), increase of dilution rate resulted in increase of the ammonia removal rate as well as the $CO_2$ fixation rate but the ammonia removal efficiency decreased. Ammonia was not completely removed from the medium (wastewater) of raceway pond which was operated in a batch mode under a light intensity up to 20 klux. The incomplete removal of ammonia was believed due to insufficient light supply. A mathematical model, capable of predicting experimental data, was developed in order to simulate the performance of the raceway pond under the light intensity of sun during a bright daytime. Simulation results showed that the rates of $CO_2$ fixation and ammonia removal could be enhanced by increasing light intensity. According to the simulation, 80 mg $dm^{-3}$ of ammonia in the medium could be completely removed if the light intensity was over 60 klux with a continuous lighting. Under the optimal operating condition determined by the simulation, the rates of carbon dioxide fixation and ammonia removal in the outdoor operation of raceway pond were estimated as high as $24.7 g m^{-2} day^{-1}$ and $0.52 g NH_3-N m^{-2} day^{-1}$, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.703-709
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• 2013

Among many microalgae cultivation types, heterotrophic culture with low cost carbon sources and energy saving culture method is crucial. A result of estimating the effects of pH on wastewater treatment using heterotrophic growing microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana shows that there was no difference in microalgae growth amount and nitrogen, phosphorus removal rate by wide range of pH(5 ~ 9). From pH 5 to 9, total nitrogen, phosphorous and glucose removal rates were 10.5 mg-N/L/d, 2 mg-P/L/d, 800 ~ 1000 mg/L respectively. This study reveals that C. sorokiniana cannot metabolite glycerol heterotrophically, however, glucose and acetate were proper carbon sources for growth and T-N, T-P and TOC removal. This research highlights the potential of heterotrophic microalgal growth with wastewater treatment plant with wide range of pH and carbon sources.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2015

In order to investigate the live food value of microalgae for efficacious rearing of larvae and spats of bivalve, we studied growth rates of four microalgal species (Isochrysis galbana, Pavlova lutheri, Chaetoceros simplex, Tetraselmis tetrathele) cultured in different environmental conditions. These include changes in temperatures (20, 25, 30 and $35^{\circ}C$), salinities (20, 25, 30 and 33 psu) and light intensities (60, 100 and $140{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$). The growth rate of I. galbana was faster at $25^{\circ}C$ than that of $20^{\circ}C$. At $25^{\circ}C$ the highest growth rate of I. galbana was observed at 33 psu (0.413) and the lowest at 20 psu (0.368) in 10 days of culture (P < 0.05). The growth rate of I. galbana was lower at 25 psu (0.383) than that of 30 psu and higher than that of 20 psu (P < 0.05). Similar temperature and salinity-dependent changes were also found in P. lutheri and T. tetrathele. C. simplex showed faster growth rate at $30^{\circ}C$ than that of $25^{\circ}C$. The highest growth rate of C. simplex was observed at 33 psu (0.428) and the lowest at 20 psu (0.389) in 10 days of culture (P < 0.05). Upon exposure to the light with different intensities, all four microalgal species showed a significantly faster growth rate at $140{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$ than at $100{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$ (P < 0.05).

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.8-16
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• 2014

Microalgae have been considered as a promising microorganism in the field of bio-industry due to their abilities to fix carbon dioxide as well as biosynthesize valuable secondary metabolites. Of many lighting sources for microalgal cultivation, LED (Lighting Emitting Diode) has been emerged as the appropriate choice with multiple advantages over the conventional bulbs. However, it is only in recent years that we have witnessed the possibility of application of LED into microalgae cultivation system. LED will serve as an evolutionary lighting source for microalgae cultivation system and open the frontier for integrative bio-industries. In this paper, we present the comprehensive review on the recent trends of LED applications into microalgal biotechnology.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.285-289
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• 2009

Recently, as the interest in the accelerated global warming and the food shortage problem is increased, the concerns for microalgae as photosynthetic microorganisms are also increased. Specially, photosynthetic microalgae, Spriulina platensis have been an attractive source for $CO_2$ gas fixations and for a vast array of valuable nutritious compounds. In this paper, to culture the microalgal Spirulina platensis NIES 39 in a batch culture with high mass, optimal conditions for the culture temperature, initial pH, light intensity and concentration of carbon and nitrogen, were tested. At the most favorable culture condition, $35^{\circ}C$, initial pH 9.5, 4500 lux and carbon and nitrogen concentration of 16.8 g/L $NaHCO_3$ and 2.5 g/L $NaNO_3$, the excellent yields of 2.10 g/L biomass and 29.53 mg/L chlorophyll were obtained.

• ALGAE
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.127-141
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• 2018

Low efficiency in microalgal biomass production was largely attributed to the low density of algal cell cultures. Though mutations that reduced the level of chlorophyll or pigment content increased efficiency of photon usage and thus the cell-culture density under high-illumination growth conditions (e.g., >$500{\mu}mol\;photon\;m^{-2}\;s^{-1}$), it was unclear whether algae could increase cell-culture density under low-illumination conditions (e.g., ${\sim}50{\mu}mol\;photon\;m^{-2}\;s^{-1}$). To address this question, we performed forward genetic screening in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. A pool of >1,000 insertional mutants was constructed and subjected to continuous subcultures in shaking flasks under low-illumination conditions. Complexity of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) pattern in cultures indicated the degree of heterogeneity of mutant populations. We showed that the levels of RFLP complexity decreased when cycles of subculture increased, suggesting that cultures were gradually populated by high cell-culture density (HCD) strains. Analysis of the 3 isolated HCD mutants after 30 cycles of subcultures confirmed that their maximal biomass production was 50-100% higher than that of wild type under low-illumination. Furthermore, levels of chlorophyll content in HCD mutant strains were similar to that of wild type. Inverse polymerase chain reaction analysis identified the locus of insertion in two of three HCD strains. Molecular and transcriptomic analyses suggested that two HCD mutants were a result of the gain-of-function phenotype, both linking to the abnormality of mitochondrial functions. Taken together, our results demonstrate that HCD strains can be obtained through continuous subcultures under low illumination conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.260-267
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• 2023

In this study, we sought to improve lutein and zeaxanthin production in Mychonastes sp. 247 and investigated the effect of environmental factors on lutein and zeaxanthin productivity in Mychonastes sp. The basic medium selection and N:P ratio were adjusted to maximize cell growth in one-stage culture, and lutein and zeaxanthin production conditions were optimized using a central composite design for two-stage culture. The maximum lutein production was observed at a light intensity of 60 μE/m²/s and salinity of 0.49%, and the maximum zeaxanthin production was observed at a light intensity of 532 μE/m²/s and salinity of 0.78%. Lutein and zeaxanthin production in the optimized medium increased by up to 2 and 2.6 folds, respectively, compared to that in the basic medium. Based on these results, we concluded that the optimal conditions for lutein and zeaxanthin production are different and that optimization of light intensity and culture salinity conditions may help increase carotenoid production. This study presents a useful and potential strategy for optimizing microalgal culture conditions to improve the productivity of lutein and zeaxanthin, which has applications in the functional food field.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2011

The green algae Scenedesmus acuminatus was cultured in different media: animal wastewater and an artificial culture medium in order to evaluate potential use for tertiary treatment. The experiments were conducted with air flowrate 1~2 L/min at $28{\sim}30^{\circ}C$. The nitrogen and phosphorus showed very similar removal efficiencies (68~77 % and 69~80 % for nitrogen and phosphorus respectively). The optimal fed period was estimated as three days in the semi-continuous experiment. The effects of $CO_2$ (4.5 %) injection on nutrient uptake from animal wastewater (biological treatment effluent) were compared to an air injection under the same conditions of light and photoperiod. The uptake rates of nutrient with air injection were observed 0.009 gN/gChl-a/day, 0.028 gN/gChl-a/day and T-P 0.003 gP/gChl-a/day for nitrate, total nitrogen and phosphorus respectively. The rates were enhanced by addition of $CO_2$ to 0.026 gN/gChl-a/day, 0.076 gN/gChl-a/day and T-P 0.018 gP/gChl-a/day. This study establishes that $CO_2$ addition during nutrient deprivation of microalgal cells may accelerate tertiary wastewater treatment.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.644-648
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• 2000

Biological fixation of carbon dioxide using microalgae is known as an effective CO$_2$reduction technology. However, many environmental factors influence microalgal productivity. Optimal cultivation factors were determined for the green alga, Euglena gracilis Z, which offers high protein and vitamin E content for animal fodder. In batch culture in a photovioreactor, it was found that theinitial pH, temperature, CO$_2$concentration in air, and light intensity during the optimal cultivating conditions were 3.5, 27$^{\circ}C$, 5-10% and 520 ${\mu}$mol/㎡/s, respectively. When tap water and freshwater were used as cultivating media unsterilized tap water was found to be effective. A kinetic model was considered to determine the relationship between the specific growth rate and the light intensity. The half-velocity coefficient (K(sub)I) in the Monod model under photoautotrophic conditions was 978.9 ${\mu}$mol/㎡/s.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.160-164
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• 1999

Algicidal activities of Alteromonas sp. SR-14 against Chaetoceros calcitrans were investigated at various culture conditions. The algicidal activity by Alteromonas sp. SK-14 was dependent on temperature. In mixed culture of C, calcitrans and Alteromonas sp. SR-14 at various temperatures, the algicidal activity of Alteronzonas sp. SR-14 was the highest at $20^{\circ}C$, but not showed algicidal activity above $25^{\circ}C$. With the inoculation of $10^4$ cells/ml of C. calcitrans, the diatom could not grow at the microalgal culture condition until 15 days by the simultaneous inoculation of less than 10 cells/ml of Alteromonas sp. SR-14. Alteromonas sp. SR-14 showed the strongest algicidal activity against logarithmic phase cells of C. calcitrans. During the mixed culture of C. calcitrans and Alteromonas sp. SR-14, supplementation of Conwy medium nutrients, changes of light intensity with 1,300$\~$4,600 lux and agitation with 200 rpm did not affect the algicidal activity.