Experimental study of red and blue illumination on growth rate and lipid accumulation in continuous culture of microalgae and cyanobacteria

In this study, the effect of red and blue illumination on continuous culture of two different species of microalgae and cynicocytosis was studied. Comparison of blue and red lights in the cyanobacteria, Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, showed that this specie grows very fast under red light illumination, but it has very slow growth rate under blue light exposure. In spite of huge difference in growth rate, the lipid content and the fatty acid composition of Synechocystis was approximately the same for red and blue light illumination. For microalgae, Chlorella Sorokiniana, the blue light resulted to slightly higher growth rate than the red light. The C18:3 unsaturated fatty acid content was significantly higher for red light illumination compare to blue light illumination. Overall, considering the lower energy requirement for illumination of red, this light is more efficient than blue light for cultivation of Chlorella Sorokiniana.