Bio-designing of Culture Conditions for Chlorella vulgaris Using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

Microalgae are microscopic organisms and show a geographical distribution depending on thephysical, dynamic, and chemical factors of the environment. These factors are mostly important forattachment and development of microalgae. Substrate, temperature, light, agitation, and turbiditycan be given as examples of physical factors, whereas salinity, pH value, and vitamins can be categorized as chemical factors. In this study, the optimization of Chlorella vulgaris production wascarried out by response surface methodology (RSM) using two factors of agitation rate (100-250rpm) and nitrogen source concentration (1-4 g/L) in the cultivation of BG11 medium. Moreover, theusage of urea instead of NaNO3 was investigated and discussed.