Growth Performance and Biochemical Composition of Waste-Isolated Microalgae Consortia Grown on Nano-Filtered Pig Slurry and Cheese Whey under Mixotrophic Conditions
Min Su,
Marta Dell’Orto,
Barbara Scaglia,
Giuliana D’Imporzano,
Fabrizio Adani
Affiliations
Min Su
Gruppo Ricicla Labs., Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali—Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergia (DiSAA), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Marta Dell’Orto
Gruppo Ricicla Labs., Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali—Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergia (DiSAA), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Barbara Scaglia
Gruppo Ricicla Labs., Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali—Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergia (DiSAA), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Giuliana D’Imporzano
Gruppo Ricicla Labs., Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali—Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergia (DiSAA), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Fabrizio Adani
Gruppo Ricicla Labs., Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali—Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergia (DiSAA), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
The cultivation mode plays a vital role in algal growth and composition. This paper assessed the growth ability of twelve algae–microbial consortia (ACs) originally selected from organic wastes when nano-filtered pig slurry wastewater (NFP) and cheese whey (CW) were used as growth substrates in a mixotrophic mode in comparison with a photoautotrophic mode. Nutrient uptake ability, biochemical composition, fatty acids, and amino acid profiles of ACs were compared between both cultivation conditions. On average, 47% higher growth rates and 35% higher N uptake were found in mixotrophic cultivation along with significant P and TOC removal rates. Changing the cultivation mode did not affect AA and FA composition but improved EAA content, providing the potential for AC_5 and AC_4 to be used as local protein feed supplements. The results also showed the possibility for AC_6 and AC_1 to be used as omega-3 supplements due to their low ω-6–ω-3 ratio.