Growth of Chlorella sorokiniana on a mixture of volatile fatty acids: The effects of light and temperature

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of light and temperature on Chlorella sorokiniana grown on a mixture of acetate and butyrate, two of the volatile fatty acids produced by dark fermentation. Exposure to light caused autotrophic biomass production (56% of the final biomass) and reduced the time to reach butyrate exhaustion to 7. days at 25. °C from 10. days in the dark. For growth on acetate at the optimum temperature (35°C), the presence of butyrate reduced the growth rate (by 46%) and the carbon yield (by 36%). For successful microalgae growth on dark fermentation effluent, butyrate inhibition may be reduced by setting the temperature to 30. °C and providing light.