
Valorization of second cheese whey through cultivation of extremophile microalga <i>Galdieria sulphuraria</i>
Author(s) -
Giovanni Luca Russo,
Antonio Luca Langellotti,
Maria Oliviero,
Marco Baselice,
Raffaele Sacchi,
Paolo Masi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
aims environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2372-0352
pISSN - 2372-0344
DOI - 10.3934/environsci.2021028
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , food science , nutrient , biology , chemistry , composition (language) , biomass (ecology) , biochemistry , fatty acid , agronomy , ecology , linguistics , philosophy
Second cheese whey (SCW) or " scotta " in Italian, is a side-stream from the manufacturing of " Ricotta " cheese, obtained after thermal coagulation of whey proteins residue in the cheese whey. Galdieria sulphuraria is a thermophilic red algae well known for its metabolic capabilities to grow on wastewater and other saline effluents. In this work, the valorisation of SCW as nutrient source for the growth of G. sulphuraria has been investigated using different concentrations of SCW. The biochemical and fatty acids composition of the biomass obtained has been evaluated too. Small differences have been observed in terms of biomass obtained after 12 days of cultivation between the SCW media and the relative control with the same amount of reducing sugars. The fatty acids composition of G. sulphuraria grown in SCW showed a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to the control. The biomass productivity using SCW media has also been optimized through response surface methodologies with supplementation of nitrogen source obtaining a biomass dry weight higher than 10 g L -1 .