Enhancing Biomass and Lutein Production From Scenedesmus almeriensis: Effect of Carbon Dioxide Concentration and Culture Medium Reuse

Antonio Molino; Sanjeet Mehariya; Angela Iovine; Patrizia Casella; Tiziana Marino; Despina Karatza; Simeone Chianese; Dino Musmarra

doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.00415

Enhancing Biomass and Lutein Production From Scenedesmus almeriensis: Effect of Carbon Dioxide Concentration and Culture Medium Reuse

Front Plant Sci. 2020 Apr 21:11:415. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00415. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Antonio Molino¹, Sanjeet Mehariya^{1

2}, Angela Iovine^{1

2}, Patrizia Casella¹, Tiziana Marino², Despina Karatza², Simeone Chianese², Dino Musmarra²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sustainability-CR Portici, ENEA Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Portici, Italy.
² Department of Engineering, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Aversa, Italy.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of operative parameters and bioprocess strategies on the photo-autotrophic cultivation of the microalgae Scenedesmus almeriensis for lutein production. S. almeriensis was cultivated in a vertical bubble column photobioreactor (VBC-PBR) in batch mode and the bioactive compounds were extracted by accelerated solvent extraction with ethanol at 67°C and 10 MPa. The cultivation with a volume fraction of CO₂ in the range 0-3.0%v/v showed that the highest biomass and lutein concentrations - 3.7 g/L and 5.71 mg/g, respectively - were measured at the highest CO₂ concentration and using fresh growth medium. Recycling the cultivation medium from harvested microalgae resulted in decreased biomass and lutein content. The nutrient chemical composition analysis showed the highest consumption rates for nitrogen and phosphorus, with values higher than 80%, while sulfate and chloride were less consumed.

Keywords: ASE; Scenedesmus almeriensis; lutein; microalgae; photo-autotrophic cultivation.