Studies on Cultivation of Lipid Accumulating BOTRYOCOCCUS BRAUNII from North Gujarat Inland Waters for Generation of 3rd Generation Biofuels

Abstract

Microalgae are a source of biofuels to address ever growing fuel demands and environmental problems associated with fossil fuels. KSV1, a free floating, green, unicellular, fresh water microalga, isolated from North Gujarat inland waters and provisionally identified as Botryococcus braunii has shown optimal growth and lipid synthesis in BG11medium, at 20ºC, pH of 7.0 to 8.0 with 16:8 hrs Light (5.0 ± 0.2 k lux): Dark period cycle under agitation at 120 rpm. This alga exhibits tolerance to wide range of pH (4.0-10.0) and agitation (0-180 RPM) but is sensitive to light: dark period cycles and temperature. Lipid content of 15-19% of the dry weight makes this strain of B. braunii, a potential candidate for 3rd generation biofuels.