Abstract
Inexpensive carbon sources offering an alternative to glucose are searched for to reduce costs of docosahexaenoic acid production by microalgae. The use of waste glycerol seems substantiated and prospective in this case. The objective of this study was to determine the production yield of heterotrophic microalgae Schizochytrium sp. biomass and the efficiency of docosahexaenoic acid production in various types of cultures with waste glycerol. Cultivation conditions were optimized using the Plackett–Burman method and Response Surface Methodology. The highest technological performance was obtained in the fed-batch culture, where the concentration of Schizochytrium sp. biomass reached 103.44 ± 1.50 g/dm3, the lipid concentration in Schizochytrium sp. biomass was at 48.85 ± 0.81 g/dm3, and the docosahexaenoic acid concentration at 21.98 ± 0.36 g/dm3. The highest docosahexaenoic acid content, accounting for 61.76 ± 3.77% of total fatty acids, was determined in lipid bodies of the Schizochytrium sp. biomass produced in the batch culture, whereas the lowest one, accounting for 44.99 ± 2.12% of total fatty acids, in those of the biomass grown in the fed-batch culture.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
The goal of this study was to verify the yield of biomass production by heterotrophic microalgae Schizochytrium sp. and the efficiency of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) production in batch, semi-continuous, and continuous cultures fed with waste glycerol as a source of organic carbon
The culture yield, determined as the ratio of dry cell weight to the weight of consumed glycerol, was the lowest in the fed-batch culture and the continuous culture, mainly due to the effect of culture dilution with a fresh culture medium added to the fermenter in a continuous mode
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The biomass of microalgae represents a source of valuable substances that may be used in medicine and pharmacy and in the fertilizer, feedstuff, and food industries as well as in bioenergetics [1,2]. Microalgae are known for producing valuable compounds, like e.g., docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It is an unsaturated fatty acid belonging to the
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