A kinetic model for lutein production by the green microalga Chlorella protothecoides in heterotrophic culture

Production of lutein by the green microalga Chlorella protothecoides grown heterotrophically in a fermenter using glucose as the carbon source and ure a as the nitrogen source was investigated. An unstructured kinetic model wa s proposed to describe the microalgal culture system including cell growth, lutein formation, as well as glucose and nitrogen consumption. The inhibit ion potentials of biomass, product and substrates on growth and lutein form ation were examined and incorporated into the kinetic model. Values of the kinetic model parameters were estimated. The resulting model predictions we re in good agreement with the experimental results. The model can be helpfu l in scale-up, optimization and control of the C. protothecoides culture pr ocess, and can also be used as a guideline for similar microalgal cultivati on systems.