The Effect of Varying Light Intensity on Picochlorum oklahomense Growth

Abstract

Algae utilizes photosynthesis in order to produce energy to produce chemical energy. The purpose of our experiment is to measure algae growth in different levels of light intensity to see what amount of light produces more algae growth.  We did this by creating a set of four photobioreactors with two control bottles, with nothing covering the bottle. A dark trial, with tin foil covering the clear plastic bottles, and another trial with cheesecloth covering the bottle to represent a medium amount of light. Hypothesizing that a higher light exposure will result in a higher growth of algae. Our results showed that the bottle wrapped in cheesecloth allowed for optimal chlorophyll production which is beneficial to the biofuel industry because they can easily recreate these conditions.