Mass culture of Botryococcus braunii Kutz. under open raceway pond for biofuel production

► Three native strains of Botryococcus braunii isolated from the Kolleru lake, Andhra Pradesh, India. ► Strains identified based on the morphological and molecular characterization. ► Strains AP103, AP104 and AP105 evaluated for biomass, lipid and hydrocarbon production. ► Lipid rich AP103 strain was selected and mass culture under open raceway pond. ► Under open raceway pond strain AP103 produced 1.8 g L−1 of biomass, 19% lipids, and 11% hydrocarbons.