What Amount of Miracle-Gro Miracid is Most Efficient in the Production of Nannochloropsis oculata?

Abstract

In recent years, biofuels have become an alternative to fossil fuels for several reasons. Not only are biofuels a healthier alternative for the environment, but biofuels are also becoming more available. We hypothesize that the Nannochloropsis oculata that is provided with the greater amount of Miracle-Gro Miracid will have higher growth rates than the N. oculata that is not provided with an additive. Fossil fuels are now becoming harder to produce due to having fewer materials to make fossil fuels. The materials needed to produce biofuels, however, are in a much greater supply (Aravind, 2020). Throughout this experiment, we will be studying the growth of N. oculata when providing it with different levels of Miracle-Gro Miracid ranging from 0.2 grams and 0.7 grams. We will have 4 control photobioreactors, with no additives, two photobioreactors with 0.2 grams of Miracle-Gro Miracid and 2 photobioreactors with 0.7 grams of Miracle-Grp Miracid. The photobioreactors will be left under the light chamber for a week and then collect our data. We will be studying the dry weight and cell count of the N. oculata that we provide Miracle-Gro Miracid to versus the N. oculata’s dry weight and cell count without the additive.  The two photobioreactors that had 0.2 grams of Miracle-Gro Miracid there was a significant increase in cell count. The average cell count went from 2 cells to 11 cells. In the experimental group with 0.7 grams of Miracle-Gro Miracid, surprisingly the cell count was significantly less than the other experimental group. It is important to note that there was the possibility for experimental error, so it is advised to take that into consideration when conducting this experiment.