Evaluation of Tolerant to CO 2 Excess Microalgae for the Production of Multiple Biochemicals in a 3G Biorefinery

Alexandros Pavlou (), Giannis Penloglou () and Costas Kiparissides
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Alexandros Pavlou: Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute (CPERI), 6 th km Charilaou-Thermi Rd, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Giannis Penloglou: Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute (CPERI), 6 th km Charilaou-Thermi Rd, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Costas Kiparissides: Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute (CPERI), 6 th km Charilaou-Thermi Rd, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: To date, the positive environmental impact of microalgae-based technologies has been demonstrated in numerous studies. However, there is still a number of major technical and economic obstacles to overcome. Therefore, further research and innovation are needed for the development and commercial exploitation of large-scale integrated and sustainable processes, based on robust ‘industrial’ microalgal strains and novel photobioreactors (PBRs). Note that the advancement of intensified microalgal cultivation processes can facilitate the economically feasible co-production of microalgal biomass and value-added biochemicals. In this context, the goal of the present investigation was to compare several microalgal strains based on a set of productivity criteria, including the maximum biomass growth and the maximum concentration of total biochemicals (i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) under CO 2 excess conditions (10% v/v ). It was found that the wild type strain of Stichococcus sp. fully meets the above productivity criteria. In particular, a biomass concentration of 1.68 g·L −1 and a concentration of total biochemical products of 1.4 g·L −1 were measured in batch cultivation experiments in flasks using the selected strain. Further studies were performed in two different PBRs. Cultivation in a conventional stirred tank PBR showed successful scaling of the bioprocess, whereas cultivation in an innovative tubular recirculating PBR resulted in maximization of both biomass concentration (3.66 g·L −1 ) and total biochemical products concentration (3.33 g·L −1 ).

Keywords: microalgae; carbon dioxide; photobioreactor; biomass; carbohydrates; proteins; lipids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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