{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T05:52:55Z","timestamp":1774936375783,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774656000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms with high biotechnological potential, though optimising inorganic carbon supply remains a critical challenge to enhance growth, biomass quality, and carbon use efficiency. To address this, this study evaluated the impact of sodium bicarbonate supplementation (0, 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 g L\u22121) on Chlorella vulgaris growth, carbon dynamics, biochemical composition, and metabolism over 11 days. Higher carbon availability (3.0 g L\u22121 NaHCO3) increased the specific growth rate to 0.472 \u00b1 0.004 d\u22121, accelerated nitrogen removal (85% by day 4), enhanced phosphorus removal (up to 90% by the end of cultivation), and increased dissolved inorganic carbon uptake (93 \u00b1 6 mg L\u22121). Carbohydrate and lipid contents were not significantly affected by bicarbonate concentration, whereas protein and pigment levels were higher in non-supplemented conditions due to prolonged exponential growth. Bicarbonate supplementation enhanced MUFA content, improving biodiesel quality. Amino acid profiles were similar across conditions, with glutamic acid as the predominant amino acid (up to 17 mg g\u22121 DW) and higher values under moderate bicarbonate supplementation (1.5 g L\u22121). Overall, bicarbonate supplementation enhanced microalgal growth, nutrient removal efficiency, and fatty acid composition, highlighting its potential to improve carbon availability for C. vulgaris cultivation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/app16073279","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,30]],"date-time":"2026-03-30T08:22:36Z","timestamp":1774858956000},"page":"3279","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Bicarbonate-Based Cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris: Growth Enhancement, Carbon Losses and Metabolic Trade-Offs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5031-9218","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carolina","family":"Maia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"LEPABE, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Mariana","family":"Cardoso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEPABE, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1466-2182","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joana","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEPABE, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1686-3850","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susana","family":"Casal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LAQV-REQUIMTE, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"T\u00e2nia G.","family":"Tavares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEPABE, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2738-5102","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 C. M.","family":"Pires","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEPABE, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6192-2760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana F.","family":"Esteves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEPABE, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"158651","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cej.2024.158651","article-title":"Bicarbonate-based cultivation of Chlorella sorokiniana SU-1: Optimizing culture conditions and utilizing bicarbonate from flue gas chemical absorption","volume":"503","author":"Huang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Chem. Eng. 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