Lipid Production from Palm Oil Mill Effluent By Microalgae

In tropical countries, the palm oil industry discharges a large amount of wastewater. The wastewater can serve as an economical nutrient source or substrate that can support the cultivation of microalgae. This study aimed to identify the local species of microalgae potentially existing in the industrial wastewater of palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME was selected as the key source of waste due to its higher potential in producing lipids from microalgae as biofuel substrate. A novel green microalgal strain was isolated from POME of Kulai-Johor west Palm Oil Mill in Malaysia and was identified as Chlamydomonas sp. and subsequently named Chlamydomonas sp. UTM 98 with Catalogue No. of KR349061. This strain was cultivated in media with different volume ratios of POME and Basal Bald Medium (BBM). Lipid is generally a group of organic compound that serves as the primary raw material for biofuel. The result showed that Chlamydomonas sp UTM 98 grown in the media of diluted POME exhibited a high potential of microalgae for biomass production and POME nutrients removal.