Revealing the role of phosphorus supply on the phosphorus distribution and lipid production in Scenedesmus obliquus UTEX 393 during nitrogen starvation

Microalgal-based processes offer promise for addressing two sustainability challenges: recovering phosphorus (P) from wastewater and producing biofuel feedstock. This study investigated the role of phosphorus supply on microalgal growth, lipid yield, and P distribution for Scenedesmus during nitrogen starvation. Extracellular polymeric substances and intracellular polymeric substances were the most important pools for inorganic phosphorus (IP) and organic phosphorus (OP), respectively. The main P pool for microalgae with low phosphorus supply was EPS, which accounted for 57 % of the total biomass phosphorus; while under high P concentrations, 79 % of the phosphorus was stored in IPS. A high concentration of orthophosphate stimulated rapid P uptake as IP and promoted the transformation of IP to OP associating with biomass synthesis. The highest P content of microalgal biomass was 6.5 % of dry weight when the phosphorus concentration in medium was 113 mg/L, and the OP content was 4.9 % of dry weight. High phosphate-P enhanced the biomass's lipid content by 60 %, and the distribution of fatty acid methyl esters was not altered by P concentrations. Collectively, high phosphate-P availability could promote microalgal biomass synthesis, lipid production and P accumulation.