Microalgae are promising sources of biofuels due to the high lipid content of some species. However, growing microalgae at large scales involves high production costs, mainly associated with nutrient inputs and harvesting processes. Therefore, to be cost competitive, species to be used as a source of fuels should be capable of accumulating lipids and biomass at lower fertilizer inputs. In the present study, we isolated and identified a native microalgal strain of Botryococcus sp. which was cultured under varying nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon dioxide regimes. The effects of nutrient availability on biomass, lipid production and fatty acid profiles were examined. We observed an increase in the relative lipid content from 25.5% under nitrogen non-limiting conditions to 41.8% under nitrogen deprivation. The lipid profile induced by nitrogen limitation was found to be dominated by saturated and monounsaturated lipid classes, meeting the European Standards for biodiesel and oil suitable for biofuel production. Thus, this Botryococcus sp. has the potential to be used at large scale cultures with the purpose of producing biofuels with lower fertilizer costs.

中文翻译：

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养分利用率对葡萄球菌脂质生产力的影响。（Botryococcaceae，Chlorophyta），一种新分离的来自波多黎各的热带微藻菌株

由于某些物种的高脂质含量，微藻类是有前途的生物燃料来源。然而，大规模生长微藻涉及高生产成本，主要与养分输入和收获过程有关。因此，为了具有成本竞争力，用作燃料来源的物种应能够在较低的肥料投入下积累脂质和生物量。在本研究中，我们分离并鉴定了一种天然的微藻葡萄球菌。在不同的氮，磷和二氧化碳制度下进行培养。检查了养分利用率对生物量，脂质产生和脂肪酸谱的影响。我们观察到相对脂质含量从氮非限制性条件下的25.5％增加到氮缺乏时的41.8％。发现由氮限制引起的脂质概况主要由饱和和单不饱和脂质类别决定，符合适用于生物燃料生产的生物柴油和机油的欧洲标准。因此，该葡萄球菌属sp。有潜力用于大规模养殖，以降低肥料成本生产生物燃料。