Methods in Molecular Biology (2020) 1980: 63–70
DOI 10.1007/7651_2017_103
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017
Published online: 21 November 2017
Determining Inorganic and Organic Carbon
Jaana Koistinen, Mervi Sjo ¨ blom, and Kristian Spilling
Abstract
Carbon is the element which makes up the major fraction of lipids and carbohydrates, which could be used
for making biofuel. It is therefore important to provide enough carbon and also follow the flow into
particulate organic carbon and potential loss to dissolved organic forms of carbon. Here we present
methods for determining dissolved inorganic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, and particulate organic
carbon.
Keywords Dissolved inorganic carbon, Dissolved organic carbon, Particulate organic carbon, pH
1 Introduction
Carbon (C) is a fundamental component for all life. It is fixed from
carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into biomass during photosynthesis, and
microalgae account for approximately half the carbon fixation globally [1]. In culture, being able to measure different carbon pools is
useful for understanding the conditions the algae have for carbon
fixation (e.g., ensuring that they are not carbon limited) and follow
the flow into particulate organic carbon and potential loss to dissolved organic forms of carbon.
Particulate organic carbon is fundamental for understanding
biological relevant stoichiometric relationships, most notably the
carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) ratio, but other ratios can be
useful, such as carbon to lipids ratio, which reveal information about
carbon allocation of the algae. The Redfield ratio is often used as an
indicator of algal growth requirements [2]. This ratio is originally
derived from the average nutrient need for marine microalgae and
the availability of these nutrients in the open ocean. The Redfield
ratio is 106 carbon atoms to 16 nitrogen atoms to 1 phosphorus
atom, but there is a large variability of this ratio depending on the
species cultivated and available resources (C, N, P). For example,
increasing light leads normally to higher C fixation and an increase in
the C:N:P ratio; in addition temperature and pH might also affect
the stoichiometric ratio of the harvested biomass [2, 3]. For biofuel
as the end product of microalgal cultivation, getting the C:N:P ratio
63
DOI 10.1007/7651_2017_103
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017
Published online: 21 November 2017
Determining Inorganic and Organic Carbon
Jaana Koistinen, Mervi Sjo ¨ blom, and Kristian Spilling
Abstract
Carbon is the element which makes up the major fraction of lipids and carbohydrates, which could be used
for making biofuel. It is therefore important to provide enough carbon and also follow the flow into
particulate organic carbon and potential loss to dissolved organic forms of carbon. Here we present
methods for determining dissolved inorganic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, and particulate organic
carbon.
Keywords Dissolved inorganic carbon, Dissolved organic carbon, Particulate organic carbon, pH
1 Introduction
Carbon (C) is a fundamental component for all life. It is fixed from
carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into biomass during photosynthesis, and
microalgae account for approximately half the carbon fixation globally [1]. In culture, being able to measure different carbon pools is
useful for understanding the conditions the algae have for carbon
fixation (e.g., ensuring that they are not carbon limited) and follow
the flow into particulate organic carbon and potential loss to dissolved organic forms of carbon.
Particulate organic carbon is fundamental for understanding
biological relevant stoichiometric relationships, most notably the
carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) ratio, but other ratios can be
useful, such as carbon to lipids ratio, which reveal information about
carbon allocation of the algae. The Redfield ratio is often used as an
indicator of algal growth requirements [2]. This ratio is originally
derived from the average nutrient need for marine microalgae and
the availability of these nutrients in the open ocean. The Redfield
ratio is 106 carbon atoms to 16 nitrogen atoms to 1 phosphorus
atom, but there is a large variability of this ratio depending on the
species cultivated and available resources (C, N, P). For example,
increasing light leads normally to higher C fixation and an increase in
the C:N:P ratio; in addition temperature and pH might also affect
the stoichiometric ratio of the harvested biomass [2, 3]. For biofuel
as the end product of microalgal cultivation, getting the C:N:P ratio
63