Background:
Microalgae have widespread attention in renewable energy, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries and are considered super food. Though it has many applications, there is a huge cost requirement for culturing and maintaining a single species of microalgae under laboratory conditions. This leads to an increase in microalgae stock cost which surges the production cost during commercial-scale cultivation of microalgae and becomes a major hurdle for marketing the microalgae-based bioproduct. Besides using more chemical-based media might also cause serious environmental related issues:
Technology Details:
CIFRI ALGA S+ is a low-cost organic algae culture medium which is a mixture of garden waste-based vermicompost with minimal addition of a few macronutrients. It also eliminates the usage of trace metals required for microalgae growth. The laboratory trial was conducted using the developed media for growing microalgae Graesiella emersonii. The media supported ~2 times higher biomass production when compared to commercial BG11 media. Further, the mass scale cultivation using a 60 L aquarium also showed 32% higher biomass production. The product has also been sent to laboratories of different institutes and found promising results in the growth and biomass productivity of microalgae. Hence, the present invention will definitely reduce the culture cost of microalgae since it uses the garden wastes as raw material and reduces (2 times the actual) macronutrient requirement and completely eliminates the trace metal requirement:
Advantages of CIFRI-ALGA S+:
• Low cost of production:
• Low energy requirement during media production:
• Less toxic to the environment:
• Increased algal productivity.:
• Demands less skilled manufacturing labor. User guidance:
Step 1: Preparation:
Suspend 10 g of CIFRI-ALGA S+ media in 1 L of distilled water.:
Step 2: Mixing and Filtering:
Mix thoroughly to ensure a homogeneous solution.:
Filter the solution in a conical flask until there are no residues or remains in the water.:
Step 3: pH Adjustment:
Adjust the pH according to the requirements for your specific microalgae.:
Step 4: Autoclaving:
Autoclave the media at 121°C under 15 Psi pressure for 15 mins.:
Step 5: Cooling Down:
Allow the media to cool down to room temperature.:
Step 6: Inoculation:
Add the required amount of microalgae to the sterile media.: