Kinetic models for astaxanthin production by high cell density mixotrophic culture of the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis

Abstract

High cell density cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis for astaxanthin production was carried out in batch and fed-batch modes in 3.7-L bioreactors with stepwise increased light intensity control mode. A high cell density of 2.65 g x L(-1) (batch culture) or 2.74 g x L(-1) (fed-batch culture) was obtained, and total astaxanthin production in the fed-batch culture (64.36 mg x L(-1)) was about 20.5% higher than in the batch culture (53.43 mg x L(-1)). An unstructured kinetic model to describe the microalga culture system including cell growth, astaxanthin formation, as well as sodium acetate consumption was proposed. Good agreement was found between the model predictions and experimental data. The models demonstrated that the optimal light intensity for mixotrophic growth of H. pluvialis in batch or fed-batch cultures in a 3.7-L bioreactor was 90-360 micromol x m(-2) x s(-1), and that the stepwise increased light intensity mode could be replaced by a constant light intensity mode.

Efficient one‐step production of astaxanthin by the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis in continuous culture

“…1B). The value of biomass productivity recorded under nitrate-saturating conditions (1.2 g/L Á d) was significantly higher than those reported for the production of vegetative cells of H. pluvialis under autotrophic (below 0.1 g/L Á d, Fábregas et al, 2001;Olaizola, 2000), heterotrophic (0.17 g/L Á d, Hata et al, 2001), or mixotrophic growth conditions (0.2 g/L Á d, Zhang et al, 1999).…”

Astaxanthin in microalgae: pathways, functions and biotechnological implications

“…Growth and astaxanthin production can be enhanced under mixotrophic culture conditions. A final cell density of 0.9-2.65 g L -1 and a maximum astaxanthin content of 1-2% dwt were obtained from mixotrophic cultures of H. pluvialis , Zhang et al 1999, Wang et al 2004a. A heterophotric-photoautotrophic culture mode was also explored where heterotrophic culture produced algal biomass, while astaxanthin production was induced during photoautotrophic culture.…”

Perfusion culture process plus H2O2 stimulation for efficient astaxanthin production by Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous

“…To the best of our knowledge, the biomass density, volumetric astaxanthin yield, and productivity attained here in the perfusion culture with or without H 2 O 2 are the highest ever reported for various X. dendrorhous cultures in batch, fed-batch, or continuous modes. The maximum astaxanthin productivity achieved in this study, 4.86 mg/L-d, is comparable to, or even higher than those in the Haematococcus pluvialis algal cultures, for example, 4.62 mg/L-d in fed-batch culture under blue light illumination (Lababpour et al, 2005) and 3.22 mg/L-d in highcell-density mixotrophic culture (Zhang et al, 1999). Compared with the H. pluvialis algal cultures, the X. dendrorhous yeast culture usually has a higher growth rate and a higher maximum cell density but much lower astaxanthin content of cell ($ 1 mg/g cell vs. 30 mg/g cell or higher with H. pluvialis) (Todd Lorenz and Cysewski, 2000).…”