Micoalgae Culture

Video URL : https://youtu.be/BSiQX63OmzI

hello little spirulinar!

My team and I have embarked on a project to cultivate algae (spirulina) to produce biofuel.

This is my team:

I’m Dorian and I’m an engineer with a specialization in biochemistry.

Mathilde who is like me in biochemistry specialization.

and Alexis, who’s a chemistry major.

So right from the beginning, we had to find out which strain of spirulina we wanted to grow and how to grow it, which leads us to a key question :

“What are the parameters influencing the growth of Spirulina Platensis for laboratory cultivation?“

Different parameters can influence the growth of this crop :

– The first influencing parameter is the pH: spirulina in its natural state lives in brackish water with a pH of 10.

– The second is the Temperature: The opinions in the different studies diverge unfortunately but the temperature range is between 25 and 35°C. Be careful not to exceed 40°C at the risk of killing the culture.

– The next parameter is the aeration of the water: it is necessary to make sure that all the algae have a good rate of aeration in order to achieve photosynthesis from carbon dioxide.

– The fourth parameter is the luminosity: just like the presence of carbon dioxide, light allows photosynthesis to take place. And thus, allows a good reproduction of the algae.

– Finally, the last parameter is the nutrient supply: to have a good growth, the algae need trace elements, a source of carbon, sodium bicarbonate and minerals.

Thank you all for watching the video.

We are expecting you on February 20th for another video of our project concerning the material used.

See you next time