Microalgae from Biorefinery as Potential Protein Source for Siberian Sturgeon (A. baerii) Aquafeed

The demand for aquafeed is expected to increase in the coming years and new ingredients will be needed to compensate for the low fish meal and oil availability. Microalgae represent a promising matrix for the future aquafeed formulation, however, the high production cost hinders its application. The use of microalgae from biorefinery would reduce the disposal costs for microalgae production. The present study aimed to (i) verify the growth of microalgae on digestate coming from pig farming and (ii) evaluate their potential valorization as dietary ingredient in aquafeed according to a Circular Bioeconomy approach. For these purposes, a microalgae biomass was produced on an outdoor raceway reactor supplied with digestate and used for partial replacement (10% of the diet) in aquafeed for Siberian sturgeon fingerlings (Acipenser baerii). The results obtained confirm the feasibility for growing microalgae on digestate with satisfactory productivity (6.2 gDM m−2 d−1), nutrient removal efficiency and Chemical Oxygen Demand reduction; moreover, the feeding trial carried out showed similar results between experimental and control groups (p > 0.05), in term of growth performance, somatic indices, fillet nutritional composition and intestinal functionality, to indicate that microalgae from biorefinery could be used as protein source in Siberian sturgeon aquafeed.

Diurnal and nocturnal pH control in microalgae raceway reactors by combining classical and event-based control approaches

The pH control in raceway reactors is crucial for an optimal performance of the system. Classical pH control is exclusively performed during the daytime period for cost saving reasons. This paper demonstrates that pH can be controlled 24 hours a day by using both a continuous-based and an event-based control approach, being able to improve the system's performance and reducing costs at the same time. Thus, experimental tests on a raceway reactor for several days are presented to show a comparison between traditional control algorithms during the daytime period versus an event-based control approach operating during both daytime and night-time periods. As a result, the combination of classical PI control for the daytime period and the event-based control for the night-time period is presented as a promising pH control architecture in raceway reactors.

Control tools to selectively produce purple bacteria for microbial protein in raceway reactors

Purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB) show potential for microbial protein production on wastewater as animal feed. They offer good selectivity (i.e. uneven community with high abundance of one species) when grown anaerobically in the light. However, the cost of a closed anaerobic photobioreactor (PBR) is prohibitive for protein production. While open raceway reactors are cheaper, their feasibility to selectively grow PNSB is thus far unexplored. This study developed tools to boost PNSB abundance in the biomass of a raceway reactor fed with volatile fatty acids as carbon source. For oxygen availability as tool, not stirring in the night (i.e. reduced oxygen supply) elevated the PNSB abundance from 8% to 20%. For light availability as tool, a 24-h illumination increased the PNSB abundance from 8% to 31% compared to a 12-h light/12-h dark regime. A reactor run at 2-d sludge retention time at the highest surface-to-volume ratio (10 m2 m-3 increased light availability) showed productivities up to 0.2 g protein L-1 d-1 and the highest PNSB abundance (78%). The estimated production cost is €1.9 kg-1 dry weight (vs. PBR €11.4 kg-1 dry weight). This study pioneered in PNSB-based microbial protein production in raceways, yielding cost efficiency along with high selectivity when avoiding the combined availability of oxygen, COD and darkness.Graphical abstract

Daytime/Nighttime Event-Based PI Control for the pH of a Microalgae Raceway Reactor

In this paper, a new solution to improve the traditional control operation of raceway microalgae reactors is presented. The control strategy is based on an event-based method that can be easily coupled to a classical time-driven proportional-integral controller, simplifying the design process approach. The results of a standard Proportional-Integral (PI) controller, as well as of two event-based architectures, are presented in simulation and compared with each other and with traditional On/Off control. It is demonstrated that the event-based PI controller—operating during the whole day instead of only during daytime—achieves a better performance by reducing the actuator effort and saving costs related to gas consumption.