Nitrogen Limitation Increases Lipid Content of Chlorella vulgaris at Photobioreactor System

This study aimed to produce C. vulgaris which is easy to culture with limited cost and whose outside culture proved practical by increasing its lipid content. Chlorella vulgaris was cultured at photo bioreactor in non-nitrogen nutritive medium with different flow rates (0.3, 0.5 and 0.6 m sec(-1)) and in. oculataion densities of 20 and 50%. The highest lipid content in the study was obtained from the culture with a biomass rate of 38.16 +/- 0.8% and 0.409 +/- 0.01 g L-1, inoculation density of 50% and a flow rate of 0.6 m sec(-1). The lowest lipid content was found as 21.34 +/- 0.5% in the culture with an inoculation density of 50% and a flow rate of 0.3 m sec(-1). The highest protein. content was found as 21.73 +/- 0.1% in the culture with inoculation density of 50% and a flow rate of 0.5 m sec(-1). The lowest biomass content found as 0.035 +/- 0.007 g L-1 in the culture with an inoculation density of 20% and a flow rate of 0.3 m sec(-1). The lipid content in that culture was found as 29.69 +/- 1% and the protein. content as 14 +/- 0.5%. These results suggest that N limitation increases C. vulgaris lipid content.