The effect of cell density on biomass and fatty acid productivity during cultivation of Rhodomonas salina in a tubular photobioreactor - the dataset.

The microalga Rhodomonas salina is widely used in aquaculture. There is a need for<br> optimization of the growth of the microalgae and its content of essential fatty acids.<br> Here, the fatty acid profile of Rhodomonas in relation to cell density during cultivation<br> in a tubular PBR is investigated. It is expected that cell density is an important<br> factor in controlling productivity and fatty acid content of the microalgae because<br> cell density is important in determining light availability due to the self-shading of the<br> algae. The carbon productivity as a function of cell density is described by a saturation<br> curve. The carbon productivity and the productivity of total fatty acids are lowest<br> at the lowest cell density, and independent of cell density at higher cell densities.<br> The relative contribution of the two poly-unsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic<br> acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increases with increasing cell density and<br> saturates at 1 × 106 cells/ml. We conclude that large-scale production of Rhodomonas<br> in this tubular PBR should take place at cell densities of 1 × 106 cells/ml, while there<br> are indications for increasing difficulties in maintaining steady-state production in<br> this PBR at higher cell densities.