Loading effects of low doses of magnesium aminoclay on microalgal Microcystis sp. KW growth, macromolecule productions, and cell harvesting

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the low-doses loading effects of magnesium aminoclay (MgAC) on Microcystis sp. KW cultures. In the presence of MgAC at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 g/L, the cell growth of Microcystis sp. KW was enhanced relative to a non-MgAC case. At these low concentrations, MgAC also showed the capability of improving microalgal metabolite accumulation. Additionally, the amount of MgAC remaining in the culture media could be reused in the re-cultivation process just by adding a minimal amount of additional MgAC. And in fact, after reuse, the microalgal cultures maintained their growth efficiency. Therefore, integrated MgAC-aided microalgae cultivation is herein recommended as a promisingly efficient method for microalgae biorefinery applications. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd