Evaluation of common wastewaters on the growth of alga Spirulina

Abstract

To evaluate the suitability of wastewater on the growth of alga Spirulina, reclaimed wastewaters, fishpond wastewater, industrial wastewater and mariculture water were used to culture Spirulina subsalsa and Spirulina platensis. S. subsalsa showed better adaptability to fishpond wastewater and higher specific growth rate than that of S. platensis. Thus, effects of factors such as the amount of baking soda, inoculation, and sodium nitrate on the growth, biomass and protein content of S. subsalsa were evaluated through the single factors design. Results showed that S. subsalsa had good growth under conditions of 4–12 g/L baking soda, 1–2 g/L NaNO3, 25–40°C, and 6000–12000 lux illumination. The maximum dry biomass and protein content were 3.48 g/L and 33.08%, respectively, suggesting that it was feasible to culture S. subsalsa in freshwater aquaculture wastewater.