BACKGROUNDFlue gas as carbon source for microalgae culture has been applied to reduce the high cost of production. However, low mass transfer efficiency owing to the low CO2 partial pressure in flue gas limited its utilization. In this work, monoethanolamine was proposed to enhance CO2 utilization and microalgal biomass production. RESULTSIn abiotic absorption experiments, the total inorganic carbon concentration in the medium increased with the increase of monoethanolamine concentration and the CO2 absorptivity remained above 60% for a considerable pH range (6.5-10.0). The biomass productivity and lipid productivity of Scenedesmus dimorphus were enhanced with monoethanolamine ranging from 0 to 100mgL(-1). When 100mgL(-1) monoethanolamine was added, the CO2 utilization efficiency reached 76.1%, which was much higher than the 44.5% obtained in routine culture. The growth of cells was inhibited with monoethanolamine concentration exceeding 150mgL(-1). The changes of net photosynthetic activity revealed that the oxygen evolving complex might be injured by the higher concentration of monoethanolamine. CONCLUSIONSThese results indicated that the incorporation of monoethanolamine could be a promising solution to the problem of low CO2 utilization efficiency and low biomass productivity in the microalgae culture system. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry