Effect of Light/Dark cycle on Biomass and Lipid Productivity by Chlorella pyrenoidosa using Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is one of the waste water with highest organic content that could increase the formation of algal bloom. However, this can be taken to advantage in terms of extracting lipids from the microalgae which can be used as feedstock for biodiesel production. The light regimes submitted to the algal cultures are considered to be an important factor for determining the productivity and yield of photosynthetic reactions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of photo period on the biomass and lipid production by locally isolated microalgae, Chlorella pyrenoidosa in photo bioreactor (PBR) system. The cultures were grown at temperatures of 24 degrees C - 26 degrees C and supplied with light density of 150 mol m(-2)s(-1). The light cycles evaluated were 24:0, 16:8 and 8:16 (day: night), respectively. The highest amount of biomass 39.41 g/L. and 42 mg/L.d of lipid productivity were obtained under continuous illumination.