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Increase in biomass productivity and protein content of Spirulina sp. LEB 18 (Arthrospira) cultivated with crude glycerol

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Abstract

Glycerol is a byproduct of biodiesel production. Purified, this compound has several applications; however, in its crude form, its commercial value is limited. An alternative use of crude glycerol is its application as an organic carbon source in microalgal cultures. This study aimed to investigate the different concentrations in crude glycerol influence productivity, biomass concentration, and biomolecules content in cultures of Spirulina sp. LEB 18. Microalga was cultured in media supplemented with different glycerol concentrations in Erlenmeyer bioreactors during 15 days. The best glycerol concentration was 2.5 g L−1, which led to the maximum biomass productivity (0.43 g L day−1). Proteins were the largest component of the biomass (75.7% w w−1, 2.5 g L−1 glycerol) and could be used to obtain high-added-value compounds. Carbohydrates ranged from 7.0 (control) to 8.9% (1.5 g L−1) w w−1. Chlorophyll was reduced up to 47% (9.14 mg g−1) in the assay using 5 g L−1 of glycerol. The lipids produced in this condition (8.3% w w−1, 2.5 g L−1 glycerol) presented interesting properties for biodiesel production because of their high content of saturated fatty acids (260.56 mg g−1, 2.5 g L−1 glycerol). Microalgae culture with crude glycerol could aggregate value to a biodiesel co-product through biocompounds production making the biofuel production process more sustainable.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel), CNPq (National Council of Technological and Scientific Development), MCTIC (Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications) and the Program to Support the Publication of Academic Production/ PROPESP/FURG/2018 for providing financial support that made this research possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Food Engineering, Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande, P.O. Box 474, Av. Itália, km 8, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Etiele Greque de Morais, Ana Priscila Centeno da Rosa & Jorge Alberto Vieira Costa

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, Agrarian Science Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Admar Gonzaga, Florianópolis, SC, 88034-001, Brazil

    Itaciara Larroza Nunes

  3. Laboratory of Applied Analysis, Biomaterials and Innovations, Federal University of Bahia, Barão de Geremoabo, s/n, Salvador, BA, 40170-110, Brazil

    Janice Izabel Druzian

  4. College of Chemistry and Food Engineering, Laboratory of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande, P.O. Box 474, Av. Itália, km 8, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Michele Greque de Morais

Authors
  1. Etiele Greque de Morais
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  2. Itaciara Larroza Nunes
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  3. Janice Izabel Druzian
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  4. Michele Greque de Morais
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  5. Ana Priscila Centeno da Rosa
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  6. Jorge Alberto Vieira Costa
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Etiele Greque de Morais. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Etiele Greque de Morais and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jorge Alberto Vieira Costa.

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de Morais, E.G., Nunes, I.L., Druzian, J.I. et al. Increase in biomass productivity and protein content of Spirulina sp. LEB 18 (Arthrospira) cultivated with crude glycerol. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 12, 597–605 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00934-4

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