Scaling-up of Haematococcus pluvialis production in stirred tank photobioreactor

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate three most common scale-up criteria for Haematococcus pluvialis production from cultivation bottles to 2 and 10 L of stirred tank PBRs. Constant volumetric power input (P/V) was found to be the most suitable criterion for H. pluvialis production. Total carotenoid amount per biomass concentration in 2 L and 10 L stirred tank PBRs were determined to be 4.57 mg/g and 4.77 mg/g, respectively. Antioxidant activity of total carotenoids extracted from H. pluvialis was also higher at constant P/V criterion where 46.91% inhibition rate with a total phenolic content of 11.76 mg gallic acid/L was achieved. Obtained results could be used to expand the bioproduction of H. pluvialis and its extracts in commercial scale.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Haematococcus pluvialis; Scale-up; Stirred tank photobioreactors.