Synergistic effect of optimizing light-emitting diode illumination quality and intensity to manipulate composition of fatty acid methyl esters from Nannochloropsis sp.

In the study, the relationship between the quality and intensity of LED illumination with FAMEs produced were investigated. Nannochloropsis sp. was cultivated for 14 days under different intensities of 100, 150 and 200 μmol photons m−2 s−1 of red, blue and mixed red blue LED. The findings revealed that suitable combination of LED wavelengths and intensity; (red LED: 150, blue: 100 and mixed red blue: 200 μmol photons m−2 s−1) produced maximum biomass growth and lipid content. It was observed that the quality and intensity of LED significantly influenced the composition of FAMEs. FAMEs produced under blue LED has high degree of unsaturation (DU) and low cetane number while those under red LED has low DU but higher CN. The combination of red blue LED has produced FAMEs with high ignition and lubricating property and also good oxidation stability indicated by the DU and CN values which lies midway between the red and blue.