Isolation of indigenous microalgae: nitrogen/phosphorous removal and biofuel production

Wide-scale screening of naturally occurring algal strains has been conducted all over the world for nutrient removal and biofuel production. However, very few studies have been carried out in the region of Saudi Arabia, especially related to high-yielding oleic acid strains. The current study is focussed on the isolation of indigenous microalgae strains that were analyzed for N/P removal and biofuel production. Three strains were isolated, and identified as Chlorella kessleri (S1), Chlorella vulgaris (S2) and Nanochloropsis oculata (S3). The S2 strain showed the highest dry weight as compared to S1 and S3. All of the isolated strains showed greater than 90% nitrate and phosphate removal. Lipid contents of 19, 27 and 14% were found in S1, S2 and S3, respectively. Fatty acid profiles using Gas Chromatography Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) showed 18, 22 and 16% yield of palmitic and 6, 4 and 5% yield of stearic acid in S1, S2 and S3, respectively.