Room: King Willem Alexander
Date: Thursday, 21 May 2026
Time: 11:30 - 12:45 CEST
Session code 1CO.4
Algae and aquatic biomass production systems
Decoding the Growth-Lipid Trade-Off in Chlorella vulgaris for Industrial CO2 Valorization and Biofuel Production via Statistical Optimization
Short Introductive summary
Industrial decarbonisation is central to Europe’s climate neutrality goals, and microalgae-based CO2 bioconversion offers a circular alternative to conventional capture methods. Through photosynthesis, microalgae can convert industrial off-gases into lipids, sugars and other bio-based compounds for energy and materials applications. Within the EU-funded FUELGAE project, Chlorella vulgaris was identified as a resilient, lipid-producing strain suitable for on-site cultivation in intensified systems like closed photobioreactors (PBRs). Using a Design of Experiments (DoE) approach, the combined effects of light spectrum/clour, CO2 concentration, and nutrient availability were optimized to balance growth and lipids accumulation. Experiments in a 5 L tubular PBR confirmed model predictions, demonstrating that microalgae can serve as scalable biocatalysts for CO2 valorisation, turning industrial emissions into renewable feedstocks and advancing the circular bioeconomy.
Presenter
Giannis PENLOGLOU
IHU and CERTH, CPERI Dpt., GREECE
Presenter's biography
Giannis Penloglou, PhD Chemical Engineer, is an Assistant Professor at the Dept of Env. Engineering of IHU and an Affiliated Researcher at CERTH/CPERI, in Thessaloniki, Greece. He also serves as Technical Manager and Principal Investigator of the HEU projects FUELGAE, S2B and NAMOR.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
A. Pavlou, CERTH, Thessaloniki, GREECE
Session reference: 1CO.4.3