Abstract
Batch growth and β-carotene production of Dunaliella salina CCAP19/18 was investigated in flat-plate gas-lift photobioreactors with a light path of 2 cm, operated in physically simulated outdoor conditions. Dunaliella salina CCAP19/18 showed robust growth with respect to pH 8.0-9.0 and 15–35°C at increasing salinity, simulating the evaporation of open photobioreactors. The highest β-carotene concentration of 25 mg L-1 (3 mg gCDW−1) was observed in batch processes at pH 8.5, 15–30°C and increasing salinity up to 110 g L-1, simulating a typical Mediterranean summer climate. Intracellular β-carotene accumulation of D. salina CCAP19/18 was shown to be independent of light availability, although nutrient limitation (K2HPO4, MgSO4, and/or ammonium ferric citrate) seems to enable stable β-carotene content in the algal cells despite increasing cell densities in the photobioreactor. Fully controlled, lab-scale photobioreactors simulating typical climate conditions of any region of interest are valuable tools for enabling a realistic characterization of microalgae on a laboratory scale, for production processes projected in open photobioreactor systems (e.g. thin-layer cascade photobioreactors).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 115-125 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Engineering in Life Sciences |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 3-4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2021 |
Keywords
- Dunaliella salina
- increasing salinity
- outdoor conditions
- photobioreactor
- ß-carotene