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Microalgae cultivation for lipids and carbohydrates production

TitleMicroalgae cultivation for lipids and carbohydrates production
Publication TypeArticolo su Rivista peer-reviewed
Year of Publication2017
AuthorsVisca, Andrea, Di Caprio Fabrizio, Spinelli Roberta, Altimari Pietro, Cicci Agnese, Iaquaniello Gaetano, Toro Luigi, and Pagnanelli Francesca
JournalChemical engineering transactions
Volume57
Pagination127–132
ISSN22839216
KeywordsAlgae, Bioethanol, Biomass, Biopolymers, Carbohydrates, Ecology, Extraction, Heterotrophic conditions, Heterotrophic growth, Hydrolysis, Increased productivity, Lipids, metabolism, Microalgae cultivation, Microorganisms, NaOH concentration, Organic solvents, Photoautotrophic growth, physiology, Protein hydrolysis, Proteins, Residual biomass
Abstract

Microalgae are photoautotrophic microorganisms that can produce energy both by using sunlight, water and CO2 (phototrophic metabolism) and by using organic sources such as glucose (heterotrophic metabolism). Heterotrophic growth is a key factor in microalgae research, due to its increased productivity and the lower capital and operative costs compared to photoautotrophic growth in photobioreactors. Carbohydrate production from microalgae is usually investigated for the production of biofuels (e.g. bioethanol) by successive fermentation, but also other applications can be envisaged in biopolymers. In this work an increment in carbohydrate purity after lipid extraction was found. Protein hydrolysis for different microalgae strains (Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp.) was investigated. Microalgae were cultivated under photoautotrophic or heterotrophic conditions, collecting biomass at the end of the growth. Biomass samples were dried or freeze dried and used for carbohydrate and lipid extraction tests. Lipid extraction was achieved using different organic solvents (methanol-chloroform and hexane-2propanol). Basic protein hydrolysis has been carried out testing different temperatures and NaOH concentrations values. Lipids were spectrophotometrically quantified, while residual biomass was saccharificated and the total amount of sugars was measured. Significant differences about the purity of extracted carbohydrates were found comparing dried with freeze dried biomass. However, not a very promising purification of carbohydrates was achieved after protein hydrolysis, asking for further analysis. © Copyright 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.

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URLhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85021686468&doi=10.3303%2fCET1757022&partnerID=40&md5=d37a9da6d31ee684866bcce992e99dbf
DOI10.3303/CET1757022
Citation Keyvisca2017microalgae