Growth and biochemical characteristics of an indigenous freshwater microalga, Scenedesmus obtusus, cultivated in an airlift photobioreactor: effect of reactor hydrodynamics, light intensity, and photoperiod

An integration of algae-mediated wastewater treatment and resource recovery through anaerobic digestion

Eutrophication is one of the major emerging challenges in aquatic environment. Industrial facilities, including food, textile, leather, and paper, generate a significant amount of wastewater during their manufacturing process. Discharge of nutrient-rich industrial effluent into aquatic systems causes eutrophication, eventually disturbs the aquatic system. On the other hand, algae provide a sustainable approach to treat wastewater, while the resultant biomass may be used to produce biofuel and other valuable products such as biofertilizers. This review aims to provide new insight into the application of algal bloom biomass for biogas and biofertilizer production. The literature review suggests that algae can treat all types of wastewater (high strength, low strength, and industrial). However, algal growth and remediation potential mainly depend on growth media composition and operation conditions such as light intensity, wavelength, light/dark cycle, temperature, pH, and mixing. Further, the open pond raceways are cost-effective compared to closed photobioreactors, thus commercially applied for biomass generation. Additionally, converting wastewater-grown algal biomass into methane-rich biogas through anaerobic digestion seems appealing. Environmental factors such as substrate, inoculum-to-substrate ratio, pH, temperature, organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time, and carbon/nitrogen ratio significantly impact the anaerobic digestion process and biogas production. Overall, further pilot-scale studies are required to warrant the real-world applicability of the closed-loop phycoremediation coupled biofuel production technology.

Study of the Physicochemical and Biological Properties of the Lipid Complex of Marine Microalgae Isolated from the Coastal Areas of the Eastern Water Area of the Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea algae species composition includes marine euryhaline, freshwater euryhaline, and true brackish water forms. This study aimed to isolate a lipid–pigment complex from microalgae of the Baltic Sea (Kaliningrad region) and investigate its antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Microalgae were sampled using a box-shaped bottom sampler. Sequencing was used for identification. Spectroscopy and chromatography with mass spectroscopy were used to study the properties of microalgae. Antibiotic activity was determined by the disc diffusion test. Lipids were extracted using the Folch method. Analysis of the results demonstrated the presence of antimicrobial activity of the lipid–pigment complex of microalgae against E. coli (the zone diameter was 17.0 ± 0.47 mm and 17.0 ± 0.21 mm in Chlorella vulgaris and Arthrospira platensis, respectively) and Bacillus pumilus (maximum inhibition diameter 16.0 ± 0.27 mm in C. vulgaris and 16.0 ± 0.22 mm in A. platensis). The cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of the lipid complexes of microalgae C. vulgaris and A. platensis were established and their physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition were studied. The results demonstrated that the lipid–pigment complex under experimental conditions was the most effective against P. pentosaceus among Gram-positive bacteria. Antimicrobial activity is directly related to the concentration of the lipid–pigment complex. The presence of antibacterial activity in microalgae lipid–pigment complexes opens the door to the development of alternative natural preparations for the prevention of microbial contamination of feed. Because of their biological activity, Baltic Sea microalgae can be used as an alternative to banned antibiotics in a variety of fields, including agriculture, medicine, cosmetology, and food preservation.

Bioenergy, Biofuels, Lipids and Pigments—Research Trends in the Use of Microalgae Grown in Photobioreactors

This scientometric review and bibliometric analysis aimed to characterize trends in scientific research related to algae, photobioreactors and astaxanthin. Scientific articles published between 1995 and 2020 in the Web of Science and Scopus bibliographic databases were analyzed. The article presents the number of scientific articles in particular years and according to the publication type (e.g., articles, reviews and books). The most productive authors were selected in terms of the number of publications, the number of citations, the impact factor, affiliated research units and individual countries. Based on the number of keyword occurrences and a content analysis of 367 publications, seven leading areas of scientific interest (clusters) were identified: (1) techno-economic profitability of biofuels, bioenergy and pigment production in microalgae biorefineries, (2) the impact of the construction of photobioreactors and process parameters on the efficiency of microalgae cultivation, (3) strategies for increasing the amount of obtained lipids and obtaining biodiesel in Chlorella microalgae cultivation, (4) the production of astaxanthin on an industrial scale using Haematococcus microalgae, (5) the productivity of biomass and the use of alternative carbon sources in microalgae culture, (6) the effect of light and carbon dioxide conversion on biomass yield and (7) heterotrophy. Analysis revealed that topics closely related to bioenergy production and biofuels played a dominant role in scientific research. This publication indicates the directions and topics for future scientific research that should be carried out to successfully implement economically viable technology based on microalgae on an industrial scale.

Study of Morphological Features and Determination of the Fatty Acid Composition of the Microalgae Lipid Complex

Microalgae are rich in nutrients and biologically active substances such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, pigments, phycobiliproteins, among others. The lipid composition of the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris, Arthrospira platensis, and Dunaliella salina was screened for the first time. The proposed method for purifying the lipid complex isolated from microalgae’s biomass involved dissolving the lipid-pigment complex in n-hexane for 4 h and stirring at 500 rpm. We found that the largest number of neutral lipids is contained in the biomass of microalgae Arthrospira platensis, fatty acids, polar lipids (glycerophospholipids), and unsaponifiable substances—in the biomass of microalgae Dunaliella salina, chlorophyll, and other impurities—in the biomass of microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. The developed method of purification of the fatty acid composition of the microalgae lipid complex confirmed the content of fatty acids in microalgae, which are of interest for practical use in the production of biologically active components. We also determined the potential of its use in the development of affordable technology for processing microalgae into valuable food and feed additives.

Microalgae: A Promising Source of Valuable Bioproducts

Microalgae are a group of autotrophic microorganisms that live in marine, freshwater and soil ecosystems and produce organic substances in the process of photosynthesis. Due to their high metabolic flexibility, adaptation to various cultivation conditions as well as the possibility of rapid growth, the number of studies on their use as a source of biologically valuable products is growing rapidly. Currently, integrated technologies for the cultivation of microalgae aiming to isolate various biologically active substances from biomass to increase the profitability of algae production are being sought. To implement this kind of development, the high productivity of industrial cultivation systems must be accompanied by the ability to control the biosynthesis of biologically valuable compounds in conditions of intensive culture growth. The review considers the main factors (temperature, pH, component composition, etc.) that affect the biomass growth process and the biologically active substance synthesis in microalgae. The advantages and disadvantages of existing cultivation methods are outlined. An analysis of various methods for the isolation and overproduction of the main biologically active substances of microalgae (proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, pigments and vitamins) is presented and new technologies and approaches aimed at using microalgae as promising ingredients in value-added products are considered.

Influence of photobioreactor configuration on microalgal biomass production

Biodiesel production from microalgae depends on the biomass concentration and lipid content in microalgal cells. Photobioreactors (PBRs) facilitates cultivation of microalgae and renders better process control than open systems. However, reactor configuration and consequential hydrodynamics considerably influence biomass and lipid production from microalgae. Here, four different configurations of PBRs, viz. airlift and bubble column with orifice sparger and newly designed ring sparger, were investigated. Resulting volumetric mass transfer coefficient, mixing time, and shear stress were analyzed at different air flow rates to realize their influence on biomass and lipid production from Neochloris oleoabundans UTEX 1185. Bubble column reactor with ring sparger was observed to exhibit superior performance, which was subsequently simulated using a two-phase Eulerian model to comprehend the influence of air flow rates on mixing time. The developed computational model corroborates well with the experimental findings of optimum air flow rate for maximum biomass yield in bubble column configuration.

Chlorella vulgaris cultivation in airlift photobioreactor with transparent draft tube: effect of hydrodynamics, light and carbon dioxide on biochemical profile particularly ω-6/ω-3 fatty acid ratio

Chlorella vulgaris is used for food and feed applications due to its nutraceutical, antioxidant and anticancer properties. An airlift photobioreactor comprising transparent draft tube was used for C. vulgaris cultivation. The effect of reactor parameters like hydrodynamics (0.3-1.5 vvm), light intensity (85-400 μmol m^-2 s^-1), photoperiod (12-24 h) and gas-phase carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration (5-15% v/v) were evaluated on microalgae and associated bacterial growth, biochemical profile; with special emphasis on ω-3, ω-6 fatty acids, and vitamin B₁₂. The optimal growth of C. vulgaris without CO₂ supplementation was observed at 1.2 vvm, which was associated with higher algal productivity, chlorophyll, vitamin B₁₂ content, and bacterial load along with 72% of nitrate removal. The higher light intensity (400 μmol m^-2 s^-1) and photoperiod (24:0) increased biomass productivity and ω-3 fatty acid content (in lipid) up to 2-3 fold. The elevated levels of gas-phase CO₂ concentration (15% v/v) enhanced EPA content up to 7% and biomass productivity up to 171 mg L^-1 day^-1. However, the increase in CO₂ concentration lowered vitamin B₁₂ content (up to 30%) and bacterial load (2-3 log). Also, all the cultivation conditions favoured desirable ω-6/ω-3 ratio(in the range of 1-2).