Utilization of seawater-urea as a culture medium for Spirulina maxima

Spirulina sp. LEB 18 cultivation in seawater and reduced nutrients: Bioprocess strategy for increasing carbohydrates in biomass

This study aimed to evaluate the growth and production of biomolecules by Spirulina sp. LEB 18 cultivated in seawater. The seawater was used without nutrient addition (SW0) and supplemented with 100% (SW100), 50% (SW50), and 25% (SW25) nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and EDTA concentrations that make up the Zarrouk culture medium. When grown in SW0, Spirulina sp. LEB 18 showed maximum biomass concentration (2.17 g L^-1) on the 11th d of cultivation and an increase in the carbohydrate content and productivity by 203% and 52%, respectively, when compared to the control culture. This cultivation strategy demonstrated the feasibility of using seawater as an alternative to freshwater in cultures as well as reduced nutritional requirements for biomass and carbohydrate production.

A pilot-scale floating closed culture system for the multicellular cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis NIES-39

Microalgae are considered to be efficient bio-resources for biofuels and bio-based chemicals because they generally have high productivity. The filamentous cyanobacterium Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis has been widely used for food, feed, and nutrient supplements and is usually cultivated in open ponds. In order to extend the surface area for growing this alga, we designed a pilot-scale floating closed culture system for cultivating A. platensis on open water and compared the growth and quality of the alga harvested at both subtropical and temperate regions. The biomass productivity of A. platensis NIES-39 was ca. 9 g dry biomass m^-2 day^-1 in summer at Awaji Island (warm temperature region) and ca. 10 and 6 g dry biomass m^-2 day^-1 in autumn and winter, respectively, at Ishigaki Island, (subtropical region) in Japan. If seawater can be used for culture media, culture cost can be reduced; therefore, we examined the influence of seawater salt concentrations on the growth of A. platensis NIES-39. Growth rates of A. platensis NIES-39 in diluted seawater with enrichment of 2.5 g L^-1 NaNO3, 0.01 g L^-1 FeSO₄·7H₂O, and 0.08 g L^-1 Na₂EDTA were considerably lower than SOT medium, but the biomass productivity (dry weight) was comparable to SOT medium. This is explained by the heavier cell weight of the alga grown in modified seawater media compared to the alga grown in SOT medium. Furthermore, A. platensis grown in modified seawater-based medium exhibited self-flocculation and had more loosely coiled trichomes.

High value pigment production from Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis cultured in seawater

The prospects of utilizing pretreated seawater for the culture of Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis was evaluated under laboratory conditions with three seawater media and a control: (1) Zarrouk media (freshwater-control) (2) seawater media SW 1 (3) seawater media SW2 and (4) seawater media SW 3. The relative performance of these media were investigated with respect to their biomass production, pigment production (phycocyanin, lutein and betacarotene), and biochemical composition. A. platensis grown in media SW 2 had a biomass production (2.99+/-0.145 g L(-1)) comparable to that of control media (3.114+/-0.085 g L(-1)); highest specific growth rate (0.255 d(-1)) and lowest doubling time (2.720 days). Phycocyanin content of the cells grown in seawater media SW 3(81.85%) was closer to that of control. Similarly the purity ratio of phycocyanin produced from cells grown in seawater media SW 3 and control were closer to 4, while the phycocyanin obtained from cells grown in other two media exhibited lower purity ratios due to accumulation of lower molecular weight carbohydrates. The phycocyanin/Chl-a ratio and the betacarotene/Chl-a ratio of the cells grown in seawater media were higher than control. The lutein content of A. platensis cells grown in seawater media SW 2 was higher than that of control. The cells grown in seawater media had a slightly modified biochemical composition than the control with a higher carbohydrate and lower protein content. All the three seawater based media with fewer chemicals than the control (Zarrouk media) supported the growth of A. platensis as good as the control.