Cultivation of Green Microalga, Chlorella vulgaris for Biogas Purification

Rameshprabu Ramaraj, Yuwalee Unpaprom ,Natthawud Dussadee

Algal biomass can be utilized for renewable energy sources, such as hydrogen, biodiesel and biogas. Currently, renewed interest in producing bioenergy from microalgae has arisen because they can grow rapidly and convert solar energy into chemical energy via CO₂ fixation and, thus, are now considered one of the most promising energy sources. Subsequently, microalgae are playing important role in the biological purification of biogas. In this study, samples were collected from fish pond water and samples were enriched and isolated. The strain was identified as species of green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. It was cultivated under open type cement pond systems to produce biomass. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth of green microalga C. vulgaris on low cost artificial medium. The medium was prepared with rice fertilizer, rice bran, fish meal, lime and urea. This medium was named as, Rameshprabu medium. In this research, we investigated the growth, biomass production and biochemical composition of C. vulgaris using batch culture. The best biomass in terms of high total carbohydrates, protein and lipid production was obtained through using Rameshprabu medium. Furthermore, algal growth removed nitrogen, phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the medium.