Submission Type

Poster

Start Date

4-22-2020

Abstract

Select subspecies of microalgae are considered to be the most promising candidates for third generation renewable resources of biodiesel. Algae not only ingest excess carbon emissions from the atmosphere, they also convert it into energy-dense lipids which can be harvested, and then transformed into biodiesel. However, before the fuel industry can adopt algae farming as a realistic alternative to fossil fuels, the process of harvesting algal lipids must be optimized further. Our research aims to make algal lipid extraction more realistic by determining the ideal growing conditions of the algae species Chlorella Vulgaris. Our research this semester focused on two objectives: The first objective was to generate a standard plot which relates Absorbances of algae cultures to their cell densities. A standard plot would then replace cell-counting and hemocytometer usage, saving us many hours per semester. The second objective was to determine the highest algae growth rates between three groups: a) incubation with semi-daily agitation, b) fume hood with semi-daily agitation, and c) fume hood with constant agitation. Our resulting standard plot shows a direct linear relationship between absorbance and cell density with a R squared value of 0.8629. Group c had the slowest growth rate, while groups a and b had similar growth rates which were nearly double that of group c. Our data suggests that constant agitation is not an ideal condition for algal growth.

Comments

Sponsored by Barnabas Gikonyo

The Student Association of SUNY Geneseo

The Geneseo Foundation

Share

COinS
 
Apr 22nd, 12:00 AM

385— Optimizing Nitrogen Concentrations to Maximize Lipid Yields for Biodiesel Production

Select subspecies of microalgae are considered to be the most promising candidates for third generation renewable resources of biodiesel. Algae not only ingest excess carbon emissions from the atmosphere, they also convert it into energy-dense lipids which can be harvested, and then transformed into biodiesel. However, before the fuel industry can adopt algae farming as a realistic alternative to fossil fuels, the process of harvesting algal lipids must be optimized further. Our research aims to make algal lipid extraction more realistic by determining the ideal growing conditions of the algae species Chlorella Vulgaris. Our research this semester focused on two objectives: The first objective was to generate a standard plot which relates Absorbances of algae cultures to their cell densities. A standard plot would then replace cell-counting and hemocytometer usage, saving us many hours per semester. The second objective was to determine the highest algae growth rates between three groups: a) incubation with semi-daily agitation, b) fume hood with semi-daily agitation, and c) fume hood with constant agitation. Our resulting standard plot shows a direct linear relationship between absorbance and cell density with a R squared value of 0.8629. Group c had the slowest growth rate, while groups a and b had similar growth rates which were nearly double that of group c. Our data suggests that constant agitation is not an ideal condition for algal growth.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.