Growth and lipid accumulation properties of a freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. under different cultivation temperature

Microalgal lipid is a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. Effect of cultivation temperature on the growth and lipid accumulation properties of a freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. LX1 was studied. Scenedesmus sp. LX1 could grow in a wide range of temperature (10 ∼ 30 °C), and the growth activation energy was 49.3 kJ·mol−1. The optimal temperature to produce microalgal biomass and lipid was 20 °C, and after 15 days of batch cultivation the productivities of 313.3 g biomass·(g P)−1, 112 g lipid (g P)−1 and 14.7 g TAGs·(g P)−1 were obtained. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased with the increase of cultivation temperature. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels at 10 °C and 20 °C were higher than that under higher temperature. For the first time the cultivation temperature, ROS level, specific growth rate and lipid content per microalgal biomass were correlated together.