Effects of light-emitting diode (LED) with a mixture of wavelengths on the growth and lipid content of microalgae

Integrations of two-phase culture for cell growth and lipid accumulation using mixed LED and green LED wavelengths were evaluated with the microalgae, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Isochrysis galbana, Nannochloropsis salina, and Nannochloropsis oceanica. Among the single and mixed LED wavelengths, mixed LED produced higher biomass of the four microalgae, reaching 1.03 g DCW/L I. galbana, followed by 0.95 g DCW/L P. tricornutum, 0.85 g DCW/L N. salina, and 0.62 g DCW/L N. oceanica than single LED or fluorescent lights at day 10. Binary combination of blue and red LEDs could produce the high biomass and photosynthetic pigments in the four microalgae. The highest lipid accumulation during second phase with the exposure to green LED wavelengths was 56.0% for P. tricornutum, 55.2% for I. galbana, 53.0% for N. salina, and 51.0% for N. oceanica. The major fatty acid in the four microalgae was palmitic acid (C16:0) accounting for 38.3-47.3% (w/w) of the total fatty acid content.