Summative Mass Analysis of Algal Biomass - Integration of Analytical Procedures: Laboratory Analytical Procedure (LAP)
This document guides the integration of laboratory analytical procedures (LAPs) to measure algal biomass constituents in an unambiguous manner and ultimately achieve mass balance closure for algal biomass samples. Many of these methods build on years of research in the algal biomass analytical field i. By combining the appropriate LAPs, the goal is to break the biomass sample down into constituents that sum as close to 100% by weight as possible. Some of these constituents are individual components, such as individual carbohydrates and lipids as total fatty acids, and some can be groups of compounds, such as extractable lipids. The goal of these analyses is to characterize the major biochemical constituents in algae, but we recognize that with the current state-of-the- art methods the summative mass accounting does not always achieve 100%, and the degree to which biomass can be described is highly dependent on the origin, strain, and cultivation conditions of the algae. This document covers the summative mass balance measurements for algal biomass only.