Lipid Recovery by Microalgae from Agro Industrial Waste Water as Biofuel Substrate

Biodiesel has received much attention in recent years because of the depletion fossil fuels. In tropical countries, the palm oil industry discharges a large amount of waste water. The waste water can serve as an economical nutrient source or substrate that can support the cultivation of microalgae. This study aims to identify the local species of microalgae potentially existing in the industrial waste water of palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME was selected as a key source of waste due to its higher potential in producing lipids from microalgae as a biofuel substrate. The parameters selected for investigation were the amount of nutrients, carbon source, light intensity, and temperature. A total of five microalgae strains were tested during this study, among which Chlorella sorokiniana produced the highest lipid content when using POME as a substrate. This productivity was determined by testing for chlorophyll content, growth rate, biomass productivity and lipid content, which were found to be 0.099/day, 8.0 mg/L.day and 2.68 mg/mg cell dry weight (CDW), respectively. However, in the presence of glucose as an alternative source of carbon, with the combination of a nitrogen source, a higher lipid production was achieved 2.68 (mg/mg CDW) by Chlorella sorokiniana with a ratio of 100:7 (carbon/nitrogen) sources.