Control of predators in industrial scale microalgae cultures with Pulsed Electric Fields

Rego, Duarte; Redondo, L. M.; Geraldes, Vanessa; Costa, Luís; Navalho, João; Pereira, M. T.

doi:10.1016/j.bioelechem.2014.08.004

Cited by 57 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The field strength can be a selective tool to process cells with different sizes, varying the efficiency with cell radius. Smaller cells need higher field strength to produce similar effects to those obtained on larger ones [105].…”

Section: Control Of Culture's Contaminantsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…As result, damage was inflicted to rotifers (predators) while no visible changes were induced on microalgae population [106]. PEF treatments may cause persisting effects on rotifers or other large predators leading to the decrease of their population on the following days after treatment [105]. Besides the larger size of rotifers, the absence of cell wall, as the case of amoeba, might also contribute for the selective destruction of predators when compared to microalgae.…”

Section: Control Of Culture's Contaminantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electrotechnologies applied to microalgal biotechnology – Applications, techniques and future trends

Geada

Rodrigues

Loureiro

et al. 2018

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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Electrotechnologies are based on the direct application of an external electric field through a given semi-conductive material. These technologies are part of a wide range of biotechnological processes, considered costeffective and environmentally-friendly in view of the less intensive use of non-renewable resources and high levels of energetic efficiency. In this regard, electrotechnologies are a promising processing tool to overcome some of the microalgae's exploitation limitations. The application of electric field-based techniques can cover upstream (i.e. electroporation for genetic transformation, inactivation of culture contaminants, and improvement of growth kinetics) and downstream processes (e.g. harvesting and extraction methods). Pulsed electric fields (PEF) and moderate electric fields (MEF), targeted at microalgae cellular permeabilization and subsequent extraction of valuable compounds, count with a substantial body of fundamental research which puts them on the front row to become mainstream techniques in a near future. This review provides comprehensive knowledge systematization of the current status of the direct application of these techniques on microalgal biotechnology, as wells as future trends and challenges regarding developments in electrotechnologies to be applied to microalgae industrial exploitation.

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Section: Control Of Culture's Contaminantsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Control Of Culture's Contaminantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrotechnologies applied to microalgal biotechnology – Applications, techniques and future trends

Geada

Rodrigues

Loureiro

et al. 2018

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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“…Ethanol accumulations in outdoor non-sterilized cultivation systems were usually completely consumed by at least one specific invading contaminant microorganism. To accomplish efficient and stable ethanol photosynthetic production with cyanobacteria in large scale, strict control systems and strategies for biological contaminations would be necessary and prioritized [25–28]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rescuing ethanol photosynthetic production of cyanobacteria in non-sterilized outdoor cultivations with a bicarbonate-based pH-rising strategy

Zhu

Luan

Tan

et al. 2017

Biotechnol Biofuels

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BackgroundEthanol photosynthetic production based on cyanobacteria cell factories utilizing CO2 and solar energy provides an attractive solution for sustainable production of green fuels. However, the scaling up processes of cyanobacteria cell factories were usually threatened or even devastated by biocontaminations, which restricted biomass or products accumulations of cyanobacteria cells. Thus it is of great significance to develop reliable biocontamination-controlling strategies for promoting ethanol photosynthetic production in large scales.ResultsThe scaling up process of a previously developed Synechocystis strain Syn-HZ24 for ethanol synthesis was severely inhibited and devastated by a specific contaminant, Pannonibacter phragmitetus, which overcame the growths of cyanobacteria cells and completely consumed the ethanol accumulation in the cultivation systems. Physiological analysis revealed that growths and ethanol-consuming activities of the contaminant were sensitive to alkaline conditions, while ethanol-synthesizing cyanobacteria strain Syn-HZ24 could tolerate alkaline pH conditions as high as 11.0, indicating that pH-increasing strategy might be a feasible approach for rescuing ethanol photosynthetic production in outdoor cultivation systems. Thus, we designed and evaluated a Bicarbonate-based Integrated Carbon Capture System (BICCS) derived pH-rising strategy to rescue the ethanol photosynthetic production in non-sterilized conditions. In lab scale artificially simulated systems, pH values of BG11 culture medium were maintained around 11.0 by 180 mM NaHCO3 and air steam, under which the infection of Pannonibacter phragmitetus was significantly restricted, recovering ethanol production of Syn-HZ24 by about 80%. As for outdoor cultivations, ethanol photosynthetic production of Syn-HZ24 was also successfully rescued by the BICCS-derived pH-rising strategy, obtaining a final ethanol concentration of 0.9 g/L after 10 days cultivation.ConclusionsIn this work, a novel product-consuming biocontamination pattern in cyanobacteria cultivations, causing devastated ethanol photosynthetic production, was identified and characterized. Physiological analysis of the essential ethanol-consuming contaminant directed the design and application of a pH-rising strategy, which effectively and selectively controlled the contamination and rescued ethanol photosynthetic production. Our work demonstrated the importance of reliable contamination control systems and strategies for large scale outdoor cultivations of cyanobacteria, and provided an inspiring paradigm for targeting effective solutions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-017-0765-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Other methods can include filtration and the use of chemical pesticides (Bacellar Mendes and Vermelho 2013; Wang et al 2013; McBride et al 2014), although the former can only work when predators are relatively large, while imprudent use of pesticides can destroy the microalgae along with the predator (Méndez and Uribe 2012). Pulsed electric fields, intended to cause structural and functional damage to predators while leaving the microalgal cells intact, have also been suggested (Rego et al 2015). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimising losses to predation during microalgae cultivation

2017

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We explore approaches to minimise impacts of zooplanktonic pests upon commercial microalgal crops using system dynamics models to describe algal growth controlled by light and nutrient availability and zooplankton growth controlled by crop abundance and nutritional quality. Losses of microalgal crops are minimised when their growth is fastest and, in contrast, also when growing slowly under conditions of nutrient exhaustion. In many culture systems, however, dwindling light availability due to self-shading in dense suspensions favours slow growth under nutrient sufficiency. Such a situation improves microalgal quality as prey, enhancing zooplankton growth, and leads to rapid crop collapse. Timing of pest entry is important; crop losses are least likely in established, nutrient-exhausted microalgal communities grown for high C-content (e.g. for biofuels). A potentially useful approach is to promote a low level of P-stress that does not adversely affect microalgal growth but which produces a crop that is suboptimal for zooplankton growth.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10811-017-1112-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Control of predators in industrial scale microalgae cultures with Pulsed Electric Fields

Cited by 57 publications

References 9 publications

Electrotechnologies applied to microalgal biotechnology – Applications, techniques and future trends

Electrotechnologies applied to microalgal biotechnology – Applications, techniques and future trends

Rescuing ethanol photosynthetic production of cyanobacteria in non-sterilized outdoor cultivations with a bicarbonate-based pH-rising strategy

Minimising losses to predation during microalgae cultivation

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