Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional Composition

Microalgae are promising resources for valuable products, and cultivating them requires a suitable culture medium to optimize growth and desired biochemical content. Aquaponic sludge, a byproduct of aquaponics systems, offers a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional media by recy...

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Main Authors: Murat Yeşiltaş, Mehmet Ali Turan Koçer, Faruk Pak, Özgür Aktaş, Edis Koru
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2025-04-01
Series:Aquatic Sciences and Engineering
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Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/4A18CE4665BD4833A9E9CD9A3E687C10
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author Murat Yeşiltaş
Mehmet Ali Turan Koçer
Faruk Pak
Özgür Aktaş
Edis Koru
author_facet Murat Yeşiltaş
Mehmet Ali Turan Koçer
Faruk Pak
Özgür Aktaş
Edis Koru
author_sort Murat Yeşiltaş
collection DOAJ
description Microalgae are promising resources for valuable products, and cultivating them requires a suitable culture medium to optimize growth and desired biochemical content. Aquaponic sludge, a byproduct of aquaponics systems, offers a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional media by recycling waste and reducing environmental impact. This study aimed to compare the performance of standard BG-11 (Blue-Green 11) medium with remineralized sludge-water (RSW) and RSW supplemented with micronutrient solution (RSW+Mn) for cultivating Chlorella minutissima, Botryococcus braunii, and Haematococcus pluvialis. The highest specific growth rate (μ) of 0.097±0.011 was observed for C. minutissima in BG-11 medium, nearly 28% higher than in RSW medium. However, the highest dry biomass productivity (Pb ) of 0.012±0.011 was achieved by H. pluvialis in RSW+Mn medium, significantly 94% higher than in RSW medium. Additionally, the volumetric productivity of biomass (Qx ) for H. pluvialis in RSW medium was 0.045±0.017, nearly 50% higher than in BG-11 medium. The best doubling time (td) of 8.83±0.93 days was observed for H.pluvialis in RSW medium. Notably, C. minutissima cultured in RSW medium yielded the highest crude protein (55.77±1.81%) and total lipid (4.69±0.88%) contents. These results demonstrate that RSW medium can be tailored to achieve desired outcomes, such as optimizing growth rate or lipid content. This study highlights the potential of remineralized aquaponic sludge as a sustainable culture medium for microalgae, contributing to waste recycling and resource efficiency in aquaponics systems. Future studies should focus on optimizing RSW medium for large-scale cultivation of target microalgae species with specific biochemical profiles.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2602-473X
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publishDate 2025-04-01
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series Aquatic Sciences and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-3cbb4d0bd28348eba1f4a83278da636d2025-08-20T03:52:52ZengIstanbul University PressAquatic Sciences and Engineering2602-473X2025-04-01402749310.26650/ASE20251577446123456Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional CompositionMurat Yeşiltaş0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5903-1632Mehmet Ali Turan Koçer1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1797-6926Faruk Pak2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4191-6173Özgür Aktaş3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3175-2251Edis Koru4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2862-247XThe Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, Antalya, TurkiyeThe Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, Antalya, TurkiyeThe Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, Antalya, TurkiyeThe Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, Antalya, TurkiyeEge Üniversitesi, Izmir, TurkiyeMicroalgae are promising resources for valuable products, and cultivating them requires a suitable culture medium to optimize growth and desired biochemical content. Aquaponic sludge, a byproduct of aquaponics systems, offers a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional media by recycling waste and reducing environmental impact. This study aimed to compare the performance of standard BG-11 (Blue-Green 11) medium with remineralized sludge-water (RSW) and RSW supplemented with micronutrient solution (RSW+Mn) for cultivating Chlorella minutissima, Botryococcus braunii, and Haematococcus pluvialis. The highest specific growth rate (μ) of 0.097±0.011 was observed for C. minutissima in BG-11 medium, nearly 28% higher than in RSW medium. However, the highest dry biomass productivity (Pb ) of 0.012±0.011 was achieved by H. pluvialis in RSW+Mn medium, significantly 94% higher than in RSW medium. Additionally, the volumetric productivity of biomass (Qx ) for H. pluvialis in RSW medium was 0.045±0.017, nearly 50% higher than in BG-11 medium. The best doubling time (td) of 8.83±0.93 days was observed for H.pluvialis in RSW medium. Notably, C. minutissima cultured in RSW medium yielded the highest crude protein (55.77±1.81%) and total lipid (4.69±0.88%) contents. These results demonstrate that RSW medium can be tailored to achieve desired outcomes, such as optimizing growth rate or lipid content. This study highlights the potential of remineralized aquaponic sludge as a sustainable culture medium for microalgae, contributing to waste recycling and resource efficiency in aquaponics systems. Future studies should focus on optimizing RSW medium for large-scale cultivation of target microalgae species with specific biochemical profiles.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/4A18CE4665BD4833A9E9CD9A3E687C10microalgaeaquaculturewastewaterrecirculating aquaculture systemsustainabilitywaste recycling
spellingShingle Murat Yeşiltaş
Mehmet Ali Turan Koçer
Faruk Pak
Özgür Aktaş
Edis Koru
Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional Composition
Aquatic Sciences and Engineering
microalgae
aquaculture
wastewater
recirculating aquaculture system
sustainability
waste recycling
title Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional Composition
title_full Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional Composition
title_fullStr Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional Composition
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional Composition
title_short Investigating the Suitability of Remineralized Aquaponics Sludge for Microalgae Culture: Biomass Production and Nutritional Composition
title_sort investigating the suitability of remineralized aquaponics sludge for microalgae culture biomass production and nutritional composition
topic microalgae
aquaculture
wastewater
recirculating aquaculture system
sustainability
waste recycling
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/4A18CE4665BD4833A9E9CD9A3E687C10
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