The effect of cell density on biomass and fatty acid productivity during cultivation of Rhodomonas salina in a tubular photobioreactor - the dataset.

The microalga Rhodomonas salina is widely used in aquaculture. There is a need for
optimization of the growth of the microalgae and its content of essential fatty acids.
Here, the fatty acid profile of Rhodomonas in relation to cell density during cultivation
in a tubular PBR is investigated. It is expected that cell density is an important
factor in controlling productivity and fatty acid content of the microalgae because
cell density is important in determining light availability due to the self-shading of the
algae. The carbon productivity as a function of cell density is described by a saturation
curve. The carbon productivity and the productivity of total fatty acids are lowest
at the lowest cell density, and independent of cell density at higher cell densities.
The relative contribution of the two poly-unsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increases with increasing cell density and
saturates at 1 × 106 cells/ml. We conclude that large-scale production of Rhodomonas
in this tubular PBR should take place at cell densities of 1 × 106 cells/ml, while there
are indications for increasing difficulties in maintaining steady-state production in
this PBR at higher cell densities.