Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, 12613 Giza,
2
Department of Laser in Meteorology, Photochemistry & Agriculture (LAMPA), National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt
3
National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt
4
Department of Laser in Meteorology, Photochemistry & Agriculture (LAMPA), National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt, Department of Laser in Meteorology, Photochemistry & Agriculture (LAMPA),
5
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
6
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt
7
Agricultural Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
8
National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University
9
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University
Abstract
At present, the major body of research is focused on weaning the world from fossil fuels. The problem is that the world is running out of fossil fuel. Therefore, an alternative source must be identified. The biofuels are promising alternatives. In the case of petrodiesel, a promising alternative is biodiesel production from algae. The ability of microalgae to generate large quantities of lipids with a fast growth rate made them superior biodiesel producers. An important factor of determining optimal microalgal activity is the bio response to changes in ions concentration and quantity. The effects of the addition of the following chemicals were investigated: ammonium carbonate (NH4)2CO3 with a concentration of 72 mg/L, monocalcium phosphate Ca(H2PO4)2 with a concentration of 14 mg/L, potassium carbonate (K2CO3) with a concentration of 4.5 mg/L, and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) with a concentration of 2 mg/L. Further treatment is a mixture of all additives with the same listed concentrations. According to the results of this study, it was found that nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and calcium concentration have great influence on the algal growth and lipid production. Furthermore, the mixture of all additives yielded the highest lipid (2.488 g/L) and the highest biodiesel production (114.39mg/L) among all treatments followed by the treatment of ammonium carbonate yielded 1.596 g/L lipids and 74.38 mg/L biodisel.
Keywords
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