Enhancement of Biomass Production of Diatom Nitzschia sp. S5 through Optimisation of Growth Medium Composition and Fed-Batch Cultivation

The growing commercial application of microalgae in different industry sectors, including the production of bioenergy, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, chemicals, feed, and food, demands large quantities of microalgal biomass with specific compositions produced at reasonable prices. Extensive studies have been carried out on the design of new and improvement of current cultivation systems and the optimisation of growth medium composition for high productivity of microalgal biomass. In this study, the concentrations of the main macronutrients, silicon, nitrogen and phosphorus, essential for the growth of diatom Nitzschia sp. S5 were optimised to obtain a high biomass concentration. The effect of main macronutrients on growth kinetics and cell composition was also studied. Silicon had the most significant effect on diatom growth during batch cultivation. The concentration of biomass increased 5.45-fold (0.49 g L-1) at 1 mM silicon concentration in modified growth medium compared to the original Guillard f/2 medium. Optimisation of silicon, nitrogen, and phosphorus quantities and ratios further increased biomass concentration. The molar ratio of Si:N:P = 7:23:1 mol:mol:mol yielded the highest biomass concentration of 0.73 g L-1. Finally, the fed-batch diatom cultivation of diatom using an optimised Guillard f/2 growth medium with four additions of concentrated macronutrient solution resulted in 1.63 g L-1 of microalgal biomass. The proteins were the most abundant macromolecules in microalgal biomass, with a lower content of carbohydrates and lipids under all studied conditions.