Isolation and evaluation of cultivation conditions of Euglena sp. from Western Himalaya for biofuel production

ABSTRACT

This study aims to isolate the unicellular green alga Euglena sp. from wastewater collected from river Rispana of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. The optimization of different environmental factors for biomass production was performed. The physico-chemical factors significantly affect the culture growth and biomass of the microalga, and therefore optimization of these parameters is important for the commercialization of microalgae based biofuels. In this research, the collective effect of media composition, light intensity, photoperiod, temperature and pH was studied on the biomass of the isolated strain. The maximum biomass (0.838  g L⁻¹) was obtained in the blue-green (BG-11) medium under a light intensity of 120 µmol m⁻² sec⁻¹ and a 16:8 light: dark cycle at 25°C. The life cycle of Euglena sp. was also assessed. The life cycle of the Euglena sp. varied from 12 to 20 days but after the 10th day the culture undergoes the stationary phase of the life cycle. Euglena sp. may be evaluated for its potential as a biofuel feed stock.

KEYWORDS:

• Microalgae
• biodiesel
• isolation
• Himalayan
• optimization
• Euglena sp.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Science & Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, India. The authors are also grateful for the financial support from Science & Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, vide project file No. SB/YS/LS-197/2013.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research work was supported by the Science & Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, India. The authors are grateful also to Science & Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, vide project file no. SB/YS/LS-197/2013, for financial support.