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Fucoxanthin production from Tisochrysis lutea and Phaeodactylum tricornutum at industrial scale
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  • Hugo Pereira,
  • Marta Sá,
  • Inês Maia,
  • Alexandre Rodrigues,
  • Iago Teles (Cabanelas, ITD),
  • Rene Wijffels,
  • João Navalho,
  • Maria Barbosa
Hugo Pereira
Universidade do Algarve

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Marta Sá
Wageningen University & Research
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Inês Maia
University of Algarve
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Alexandre Rodrigues
Necton S.A.
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Iago Teles (Cabanelas, ITD)
Wageningen University & Research
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Rene Wijffels
Wageningen University & Research
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João Navalho
Necton S.A.
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Maria Barbosa
Wageningen University & Research
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Abstract

Fucoxanthin is a xanthophyll carotenoid with high market value. Currently, seaweeds are the primary feedstock for fucoxanthin industrial production. However, marine microalgae reach 5 to 10 times higher concentrations (2.24 to 26.6 mg g-1 DW), and are considered a promising source. In this work, two marine microalgae were produced at industrial scale to evaluate biomass and fucoxanthin production; Phaeodactylum tricornutum for autumn/winter and Tisochrysis lutea for spring/summer. Both strains were grown in 15 m3 tubular flow-through photobioreactors, for 170 consecutive days, in semi-continuous cultivation regime. The average volumetric biomass productivities of P. tricornutum and T. lutea were 0.11 and 0.09 g DW L-1 day-1. P. tricornutum reached higher maximum biomass concentration (2.87 g DW L-1) than T. lutea (1.47 g DW L-1). This is the first work in literature reporting a long-term industrial production of T. lutea. P. tricornutum fucoxanthin content ranged between 0.2 and 0.7 % DW, while T. lutea between 0.2 and 0.6 % DW. The fucoxanthin content was correlated with the irradiation (MJ m-2) and the biomass concentration in the photobioreactor (g L-1). Overall, this work shows possible scenarios for fucoxanthin production from microalgae, increasing the window to supply the industry with steady production throughout the year.
Jun 2021Published in Algal Research volume 56 on pages 102322. 10.1016/j.algal.2021.102322