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Food waste digestate as a source of nitrogen for the cultivation of Dunaliella salina: Influence on growth and carotenogenesis under hyper osmotic stress
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Food waste digestate as a source of nitrogen for the cultivation of Dunaliella salina: Influence on growth and carotenogenesis under hyper osmotic stress

D. Chuka-ogwude, M. Nafisi, H. Taher, J.C. Ogbonna and N.R. Moheimani
Journal of Applied Phycology, Vol.34, pp.101-112
2022
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Abstract

Dunaliella salina is well-known for its ability to accumulate high amounts of carotenoids when cultivated under high salinity and high irradiance. However, as with all microalgae, cultivation processes are expensive when synthetic fertilizers are used for cultivation. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of utilizing anaerobic digestate of food waste as a source of nitrogen for the cultivation. Dunaliella salina MUR 8 was cultivated in F-medium with partial to complete replacement of the nitrogen (0–100% digestate nitrogen) source under high salinity (150–250‰) conditions to study both cell growth and carotenogenesis. Further investigation of the physiological response of D. salina was performed under varying irradiance and temperature levels. Maximum growth rate of 0.141 ± 0.022 day−1 and carotenoid content of 3.53 ± 0.47 mg g−1 were achieved at 150‰ salinity and under mild irradiance of 180 µmol photons m−2 s−1, in medium where nitrogen was completely replaced with food waste digestate nitrogen. Higher irradiance above 400 µmol photons m−2 s−1 and higher salinity had combined negative effects on growth and carotenogenesis, reducing growth rate and carotenoid content to 0.047 ± 0.01 day−1 and 1.797 ± 0.37 mg g−1, respectively, due to the NH3–N species present in the digestate. However, under increased irradiation and temperature, in comparison with cultures grown in synthetic medium with nitrate salts as nitrogen source, there was no significant difference in biomass productivity when the strain was cultivated using food waste digestate as sole nitrogen source.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
3.171 Photoproductivity
3.171.477 Microalgae Biotechnology
Web Of Science research areas
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Marine & Freshwater Biology
ESI research areas
Plant & Animal Science
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