| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2709 | Biochemical Engineering Journal | 2016 | 8 Pages |
•C-Phycocyanin is produced by Spirulina platensis with simultaneous CO2 biofixation.•A pH-stat CO2 feeding strategy improves efficiency of CO2 biofixation.•Two-step C-PC purification achieved 33% recovery and 4.33 purity (A615/A280).•C-PC purity of 4.33 is analytical grade and has commercial potential.
Spirulina platensis can mitigate CO2 emissions and simultaneously produce an antioxidant called C-phycocyanin (C-PC), which is a high value nutraceutical product. An innovative pH control system was used to cultivate S. platensis, in which CO2 feeding, instead of acid/alkaline titration, was used to control the pH of the culture. The optimum culture pH was 9.5. Compared to continuous CO2 feeding system, the pH control system improved the CO2 removal efficiency from 13.6% to 62.3%. The C-PC content and productivity were also enhanced to 16.8% and 0.17 g/L/d, respectively. Therefore, the proposed pH control system is economic and sustainable as it avoids the use of acid/alkaline and reduces the overall CO2 emissions. A two-stage C-PC purification process combining fractional precipitation and ion exchange chromatography could achieve the highest purity (A615/A280) of 4.33 with a 33% C-PC recovery.
