Effect of different CO concentrations on biomass, pigment content, and lipid production of the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana.

The marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana grown under air (0.04% CO) and 1 and 5% CO concentrations was evaluated to determine its potential for CO mitigation coupled with biodiesel production. Results indicated that the diatom cultures grown at 1 and 5% CO showed higher growth rates (1.14 and 1.29 div day, respectively) and biomass productivities (44 and 48 mgL day) than air grown cultures (with 1.13 div day and 26 mgL day). The increase of CO resulted in higher cell volume and pigment content per cell of T. pseudonana. Interestingly, lipid content doubled when air was enriched with 1-5% CO. Moreover, the analysis of the fatty acid composition of T. pseudonana revealed the predominance of monounsaturated acids (palmitoleic-16:1 and oleic-18:1) and a decrease of the saturated myristic acid-14:0 and polyunsaturated fatty acids under high CO levels. These results suggested that T. pseudonana seems to be an ideal candidate for biodiesel production using flue gases.