DDon’t Be Acidic or Basic, Be Neutral: The Effects of pH on Picochlorum oklahomense Growth

There should be some background information here. In this experiment we are looking at how different pH levels affect algae growth. We hypothesized that the algae growing in just water with no pH manipulation would grow the best compared to its basic and acidic counterparts. For this experiment we had four water bottles with algae, one at pH of 5, two at pH of 6, and one at a pH of 8. We let the algae grow in a controlled environment for one week and then documented the growth. We repeated the experiment for a second week. Our results showed that cell count was the highest in the basic bottle, and the dry weight was the highest in control bottle one. This research can be used to show potential pH effects on algae growth when growing them for biofuels.