Cultivation of microalgae and cyanobacteria
In the GUS16 building there are two rooms used for the cultivation of small and medium volumes of microalgae equipped with shelves and reactors for culture volumes from 10 up to 450 L.
A greenhouse is dedicated to the a pilot microlgae production in three open “raceway” reactors with a volume of 3000 L each.
For years, the Center has been a point of reference for most of the Spirulina companies in Italy to which it provides technical-scientific support from the plant design phase, to the start-up and management of the production, up to the collection, stabilization and packaging of the finished product.
Il Centro ha messo a punto inoltre anche tecniche per la coltivazione industriale di microalghe la cui produzione su scala commerciale non ha ancora players rilevanti almeno nel contesto italiano come la Chlorella spp, l’Haematococcus pluvialis (produttore del prezioso carotenoide Astaxantina) e la Dunaliella salina.
Among the activities that characterize the Center, there is the possibility of producing demo of new biomass from algae, cyanobacteria and other microorganisms for companies interested in the development of new products for different market sectors. Together with these activities, the Center provides the development and transfer of customized production protocols and technical-economic analyzes of the processes, modeled also at industrial scale.
In addition to the cultivation using light and inorganic nutrients (the so called autothrophic metabolism), the Center has developed and consolidated experience in the production of aquatic protist using both light and organic nutrients (mixotrophic metabolism) and in the dark by using organic compounds (heterotrophy). Also undifferentiated tissues of superior plants for the development of products with high added value has been carried out.
Tra queste produzioni piccano quelle dei protisti fungal-like come l’Aurantochitryum sp. e il Phytium sp. rispettivamente per la produzione degli acidi grassi polinsaturi a lunga catena docosaesaenoico (DHA) ed eicoisapentaenoico (EPA) e la Galdieria sulphuraria per la produzione di attivi per la cosmetica.
Quality control
For years, the Center has been a point of reference for most of the Spirulina companies in Italy to which it provides technical-scientific support from the plant design phase, to the start-up and management of the production, up to the collection, stabilization and packaging of the finished product.
Il servizio di controllo di qualità delle biomasse di microalghe è al servizio delle aziende coinvolte in qualsiasi posizione della filiera del mercato.
