Effects of simulated flue gases on growth and lipid production of Chlorella sorokiniana CS-01

To study the abilities of Chlorella sorokiniana CS-01 on using CO2 from flue gases to produce biodiesel, the microaglae was cultured with different simulated flue gases containing 5%-15% (volume fraction) of CO2. The results show that strain CS-01 could grow at 15% CO2 and grow well under CO2 contents ranging from 5%-10%. The maximal biomass productivity and lipid productivity were obtained when aerating with 10% of CO2. The lipids content ranged from 28% to 43% of dry mass of biomass. The main fatty acid compositions of strain CS-01 were C-14-C-18 (> 72%) short-chain FAMEs (known as biodiesel feedstocks). Meanwhile, the biodiesel productivity was over 60%, suggesting that Chlorella sorokiniana CS-01 has a great potential for CO2 mitigation and biodiesel production. Furthermore, differential expression of three genes related to CO2 fixation and fatty acid synthesis were studied to further describe the effect of simulated flue gases on the growth and lipid accumulation of strain CS-01 at molecular level.