Microalgae Biomass Production from Rice Husk as Alternative Media Cultivation and Extraction of Phycocyanin Using 3D-Printed Ohmic Heating Reactor

Gabriela Cid-Ibarra; Rosa M Rodríguez-Jasso; Gilver Rosero-Chasoy; Ruth Belmares; Juan Carlos Contreras-Esquivel; Samanta Machado-Cepeda; Alejandra Cabello-Galindo; Héctor A Ruiz

doi:10.3390/foods13091421

Microalgae Biomass Production from Rice Husk as Alternative Media Cultivation and Extraction of Phycocyanin Using 3D-Printed Ohmic Heating Reactor

Foods. 2024 May 6;13(9):1421. doi: 10.3390/foods13091421.

Authors

Gabriela Cid-Ibarra¹, Rosa M Rodríguez-Jasso¹, Gilver Rosero-Chasoy¹, Ruth Belmares², Juan Carlos Contreras-Esquivel³, Samanta Machado-Cepeda¹, Alejandra Cabello-Galindo¹, Héctor A Ruiz¹

Affiliations

¹ Biorefinery Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Autonomous University of Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, Mexico.
² Functional Foods and Nutrition Group, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Autonomous University of Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, Mexico.
³ Laboratory of Applied Glycobiotechnology, Food Research Department, School of Chemistry, Autonomous University of Coahuila, Saltillo 25280, Coahuila, Mexico.

Abstract

Phycocyanin is a highly valued pigment present in Spirulina platensis biomass with applications in the food industry in terms of biorefinery concepts; specifically, its antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity are an advantage that could be incorporated into a food matrix. This study aims to use rice husk as an alternative culture medium for S. platensis biomass growth and phycocyanin extraction by ohmic heating processing using a 3D-printed reactor. S. platensis was cultivated in rice husk extract (RHE) from 0-100% (v/v). The highest content of microalgal biomass was 1.75 ± 0.01 g/L, with a specific growth rate of 0.125 ± 0.01 h^-1. For the phycocyanin extraction under an ohmic heating process, a 3D-printed reactor was designed and built. To optimize phycocyanin extraction, a central composite rotatable design (CCDR) was evaluated, with three factors: time (min), temperature (°C), and pH. The highest phycocyanin content was 75.80 ± 0.98 mg/g in S. platensis biomass grown with rice husk extract. Ohmic heating is a promising method for rapid phycocyanin extraction, and rice husk as a culture medium is an alternative for the growth of S. platensis biomass in the integration of second- and third-generation biorefineries.

Keywords: Spirulina platensis; bioeconomy; biorefinery; fermentation; high added-value compounds; pigment.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Council of Humanities, Sciences, and Technologies (CONAHCYT, Mexico) Infrastructure Project—FOP02-2021-04, grant number 317250, and the Consejo Estatal de Ciencia y Tecnología (COECYT, Coahuila, Mexico) with the “Fondo Destinado a Promover el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y la Tecnología en el Estado de Coahuila (FONCYT)” Project “Sustainable cultivation of S. platensis on a large scale for use in livestock feed”—COAH-2022-C19-C123.