In this study, the cultivation and harvesting of Arthrospira platensis biomass were proposed via simple, safe, and efficient techniques for direct consumption. Cultivation of microalgae in a covered macrobubble column under outdoor conditions resulted in significant differences (p < 0.05) with a maximum dry cell weight (Xm) of 0.959 ± 0.046 g/L. Notably, outdoor cultures resulted in approximately twofold biomass compared to indoor cultures. This outcome shows that the developed outdoor setup integrated with solar panels while utilising Malaysia's weather and atmospheric air as carbon sources is viable. Meanwhile, for harvesting, the screening showed that the fungus isolated from mould soybean cake (tempeh) starter indicated the highest harvesting efficiency, which was then further identified as Rhizopus microsporus, microscopically and molecularly. Overall, the economical and portable setup of outdoor cultivation coupled with safe harvesting via locally isolated fungus from tempeh as a bioflocculant would provide sustainability to produce A. platensis biomass.
Keywords: Edible bioflocculant; Fungal bioflocculation mechanism; Harvesting using bioflocculation; Indoor and outdoor photobioreactors; Photobioreactor systems.
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