EFFECT OF INOCULATION CELLULAR DENSITY ON Chlorella vulgaris CLV2 GROWTH CULTIVATED UNDER MIXOTROPHIC CONDITIONS

Abstract

The use of microalgae to produce biomolecules (proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) has increased in the last years. One of them is Chlorella vulgaris, a green motile unicellular microalga, of spherical form in the Chlorophyta Phylum. In this research three cellular inoculation densities were evaluated regarding their effect on algae growth under mixotrophic conditions, and sigmoidal models were adjusted to the obtained data in each density. In Treatment 1 (1 x 10⁶ cells mL^-1) the best model had an R² of 0.85 and a generation time of 59 h. In Treatment 2 (2 x 10⁶ cells mL^-1) the best model had an R² of 0.89 and a generation time of 23.5 h. In Treatment 3 (5 x 10⁶ cells mL^-1) the model had an R² of 0.92 and a generation time of 7.5 h. Treatment 3, with the highest cellular inoculation density, showed the highest growth and shortest generation time;thus it decreased the time to reach each growth phase, and contaminating microorganisms were absent.