Analysis of photosynthetic productivity of microalgal mass cultures

The calculated value of microalgal mass productivity is an important parameter in commercial mass production and derivative compound production. Mathematical analysis was conducted in order to predict the rate of microalgal mass production, which was calculated from the factor of oxygen evolution rate and the respiration rate per cell. Calculated productivities of two mutants with small light-harvesting pigment, a phycocyanin deficient mutant of Synechocystis PCC 6714 (strain PD-1) and a mutant with small light-harvesting pigment of Chlamydomonas perigranulata ( strain LHC-1), were evaluated compared with the wild-types of these mutants, respectively. The results show that calculated productivity is improved by reducing the content of light-harvesting pigment, which is supported by the actual values of photosynthetic productivity. Productive improvement by reducing the content of light-harvesting pigment is not limited to a special strain but applies to a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms.