Isolating microalgal strains for removal of nutrients from the shrimp RAS wastewaters launched at the Univeristy of Gdańsk

As part of the AquaVIP experimental activities researchers of the Department of Marine Ecosystems Functioning, University of Gdańsk, Filip Pniewski and Marek Klin, are isolating microalgal strains that will be used for removal of nutrients from the shrimp recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) wastewaters. Cultures available from the Culture Collection of Baltic Algae (CCBA) are also being tested for this purpose. The wastewaters have been provided by researchers from the Aquaculture Research Group, Alfred Wegener Institute as a part of the cooperation.

This is the first stage of the experiment: Aquaponic experiment with Litopenaeus vannamei and microalgae which will have been finished by the end of January 2021. The whole experiment focuses on the selection of local strains that will grow efficiently using Litopenaeus vannamei culturing water as a medium. Special focus will be put on salinity and a nitrogen source influence. Biochemical characterization of biomass will be performed with the purpose to determine the possibilities of commercial use for wastewater treatment, production of pigments, lipids and their use as an additive to plant biomass for biogas production, or protein-rich biomass to be used as a feed additive. An assessment of algae growth in bioreactors and preparation of inoculum for cultivation on a semi-technical scale is planned in the further stage of the experiment, as well as the reassessment of growth rate and biochemical composition to determine the stability of biomass characteristics when changing the way algae are grown. 

Subsequently, most promising strains will be analyzed in terms of their biochemical composition in order to choose isolates most suitable for the production of high quality biomass using the aforementioned wastewaters which in future will allow combining shrimp RAS and microalgal bioreactors constructing eco-friendly, zero-waste culturing systems.

Photo: Microalgal strains isolated from the Baltic waters

Source & Photo credit (Filip Pniewski, University of Gdańsk)

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