Biomass Fatty Acid Profile and Fuel Property Prediction of Bagasse Waste Grown Nannochloropsis oculata

Abstract

The Chrythophyta alga Nannochloropsis oculata was mixotrophically grown in artificial media enriched with acid-prehydrolyzed bagasse waste as a source of organic carbon. The used growth medium was composed of F2 nutrients, sea salt (22.0 g L−1), and bagasse extract dissolved in sterile tap water. All of the determined growth parameters resulted in their maximums, as the alga was fed with 25% F2 growth medium enriched with 10% bagasse extract, while bagasse-extract-free medium engaged the total chlorophyll and carotenes at the expense of dry weight accumulation during the vegetative growth period. On the contrary, the dry weight under induction growth slightly differed among the different employed treatments; however, all the treatments surpassed the control one, and variation was obviously found in the cases of chlorophyll and carotene. A slight increase in oil content (6.19–11.89%) was observed, as the vegetative cells were grown under induction conditions. The fatty acids ranged between C16 and C20, and the proportions of SFA and MUFA increased from a sum of 63.57% to 88.31%, while the PUFA, including linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid, declined from 36.3 to 11.69%. Concerning the fuel properties, the induction-produced oil surpassed the vegetative one.