Effect of Monochromatic Light Emitting Diode on the Growth of Four Microalgae Species (Chlorella vulgaris, Nitzschia sp., Phaeodactylum

Abstract

We investigated the effect of monochromatic light emitting diode (LED) on the growth of diatoms Nitzschia sp., Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Skeletonema sp. and green algae Chlorella vulgaris. The four microalgae species were cultured under blue LED (450 nm), yellow LED (590 nm), red LED (650 nm) and fluorescent lamp (mixed wavelengths). The maximum growth rates and cell densities of Nitzschia sp., P. tricornutum and Skeletonema sp. were highest under blue LED, followed by fluorescent lamp, red LED and then yellow LED, however those of C. vulgaris were highest under red LED. This result indicates that blue LED is favorable for the growth of diatoms. Thus, the growth of microalgae under monochromatic light might be species-specific or taxon-specific. Also, these results could be used as an important information in future for remediation of heavy metal contamination in the sediments using LED and microalgae.