Cultivo de microalgas em resíduo líquido da indústria de laticínios

Abstract

The microalgae are unicellular beings, easy to grow, that have been studied and used more and more in the world market, due to their broad characteristics and biomass. Each species of microalga produces some specific product in its biomass, such as astaxanthin, proteins, pigments. The way each species is cultivated interferes with the amount of biomass produced and the final product. This work aimed to evaluate the potential of microalgal growth in whey, compared to growth in synthetic medium that already contains the nutrients necessary for the best biomass extraction. Different dilutions of whey and synthetic medium were applied to compare the linearity of growth of both solutions. Dilutions were also performed to test whey toxicity to microalgae, as this residue is toxic to the environment. For analysis all the materials were autoclaved and handled in laminar flow, being its growth in Shaker with 150 rpm and 25ºC during 15 days. The microalgae presented linear growths in synthetic medium with whey, but in whey diluted with water they showed to grow in only solutions with 10% of serum for Spirulina platensis and Haematococcus pluvialis species. For the species Botryococcus braunii the growth was in 30% and 50% of serum, but with less amount of biomass.