Selection of a Species for Growth

Algal species Lipid content (% dry weight) Volumetric productivity (g/L/day) Areal productivity (g/mVday) 

Reproduced from Mata et al. (2010) with permission from Elsevier. 

The selection of an appropriate species of microalgae for conversion to biofuels is a more interesting problem than if terrestrial plants were used because there is a larger variety of species that may be chosen from. The now-defunct Aquatic Species Program of the US Department of Energy (Sheehan et al., 1998) accumulated a collection of 3000 species that it tested solely for the purpose of being used as sources of biodiesel. There is therefore a potentially immense number of other species that may be tested for other applications also. 

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