Spirulina: Growth in continuous and batch bioreactors and response to stress conditions

Abstract

Spirulina platensis is a cyanobacterium with high biotechnological potential. Optimization of the cultivation conditions of spirulina takes place constantly, to increase the yield of this valuable crop. An important economic indicator of the process is an increase in the yield of biomass and a decrease in the cost of its production. For example, avoiding the need to cultivate spirulina at elevated temperatures with at least equal biomass yield. The purpose of this work was to develop and compare methods for cultivating Spirulina platensis in two bioreactors, continuous and batch ones, and to assess the resistance of spirulina cells to environmental stress caused by the presence of household chemicals. It was shown that, at room temperature, the wet biomass yield was higher in the bioreactor than with batch cultivation in flasks. However, a decrease in temperature leads to a decrease in the number of colony forming units. The presence of compounds such as phosphates and phosphonates from household chemicals in the cultivation environment negatively affects the survival of Spirulina cells, which reflects the general trend of a decrease in the number of microorganisms as a result of environmental pollution with surfactants.