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Efficient microalgae feed production for fish hatcheries using an annular column photobioreactor characterized by a short light path and central LED illumination

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Abstract

In this study, we aimed to set up and test two models of annular-column photobioreactors (AC-PBR 1 and AC-PBR 2) in order to produce microalgae for fish hatcheries. Both models with a different design were characterized by a short light-path and central LED light source providing homogenous illumination of thin culture layer, sufficient mixing, and continuous temperature control guaranteed a stable cultivation regime and high biomass productivity. The AC-PBR 1 is characterized by a culture thickness of 5.5 cm and the maximum irradiance of 1200 µmol photons m−2 s−1 while in AC-PBR 2, the culture layer was decreased to 4.6 cm and the maximum irradiance intensity could reach 1600 µmol photons m−2 s−1. AC-PBR 1 and AC-PBR 2 were compared using the selected microalgae strain Vischeria helvetica (class Eustigmatophyceae) which is a suitable feed source for rotifers further used as a live food for fish larvae. The photosynthetic performance, biomass productivity, pigment content, and fatty acid profile were evaluated. The volumetric productivity under continuous illumination at optimal growth temperature reached 0.16 and 0.33 g DW L−1 day−1, corresponding to an areal productivity of 12.4 and 18.9 g DW m−2 day−1 for AC-PBR 1 and AC-BR2, respectively.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ms. Soňa Pekařová for technical assistance during experiments. The authors also thank Mr. Jason Dean for language correction.

Funding

This work was supported by Project ATCZ221 “Algae4Fish” Program INTERREG V-A Austria – Czech Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Algatech, Laboratory of Algal Biotechnology, Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Novohradská 237, Třeboň, Czech Republic

    Karolína Ranglová, Michal Bureš, João Câmara Manoel, Gergely Ernő Lakatos & Jiří Masojídek

  2. Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    João Câmara Manoel & Jiří Masojídek

Authors
  1. Karolína Ranglová
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  2. Michal Bureš
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  3. João Câmara Manoel
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  4. Gergely Ernő Lakatos
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  5. Jiří Masojídek
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Contributions

Karolína Ranglová contributed to conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis and writing—original draft preparation, and reviewing and editing. Michal Bureš contributed to technical design, methodology, and investigation. João Câmara Manoel contributed to data curation. Gergely Ernő Lakatos contributed to data curation. Jiří Masojídek contributed to technical design, supervision, and writing – reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Karolína Ranglová.

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Ranglová, K., Bureš, M., Manoel, J.C. et al. Efficient microalgae feed production for fish hatcheries using an annular column photobioreactor characterized by a short light path and central LED illumination. J Appl Phycol 34, 31–41 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-021-02647-1

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