Recycling harvest water to cultivate Chlorella zofingiensis under nutrient limitation for biodiesel production

Harvest water recycling for Chlorella zofingiensis re-cultivation under nutrient limitation was investigated. Using 100% harvest water, four cultures were prepared: Full medium, P-limited medium, N-limited medium and N- and P-limited medium, while another full medium was also prepared using 50% harvest water. The results showed that the specific growth rate and biomass productivity ranged from 0.289 to 0.403 day−1 and 86.30 to 266.66 mg L−1 day−1, respectively. Nutrient-limited cultures witnessed much higher lipid content (41.21–46.21% of dry weight) than nutrient-full cultures (26% of dry weight). The N- and P-limited medium observed the highest FAME yield at 10.95% of dry weight, while the N-limited culture and P-limited culture shared the highest biodiesel productivity at 20.66 and 19.91 mg L−1 day−1, respectively. The experiment on harvest water recycling times demonstrated that 100% of the harvest water could be recycled twice with the addition of sufficient nutrients.