Microalgae Cultivation Using Narrow-Spectrum LED Lighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to cultivate microalgae biomass that is low in chlorophyll but rich in antioxidant agents, particularly carotenoids, as most wild microalgae strains naturally produce high levels of chlorophyll, making them less palatable and less desirable for industrial uses.
Innovation Solution
A process involving microalgae cultivation in a medium with a carbon source and specific lighting conditions, using radiation with a narrow spectrum centered between 450 nm and 500 nm, preferably at 475 nm, to reduce chlorophyll production while maintaining or enhancing carotenoid production, utilizing LEDs for efficient light delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If wild microalgae strains are cultivated under standard conditions, then biomass is produced, but the chlorophyll content is high making the biomass less palatable and less desirable for industrial uses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the lighting spectrum parameter to have a narrow bandwidth (450-500 nm) centered at 475 nm. This specific wavelength parameter targets carotenoid synthesis while avoiding chlorophyll production, thereby changing the chemical composition parameters of the biomass to achieve low chlorophyll (<20 ppm) and high carotenoid (2000-5000 ppm) content while maintaining biomass production
2Object-generated harmful factors
If lighting with narrow spectrum radiation between 450 nm and 500 nm is applied, then chlorophyll content is reduced and carotenoid levels are increased, but specific lighting equipment is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional broad-spectrum lighting systems with LED-based narrow-spectrum radiation sources. This substitution uses solid-state semiconductor devices that directly emit light at the specific 475 nm wavelength without requiring mechanical filters or complex optical systems, thereby reducing device complexity while achieving the desired spectral precision for selective pigment production
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method achieves a biomass with significantly reduced chlorophyll content (less than 20 ppm) and increased carotenoid levels (between 2000 and 5000 ppm), improving the palatability and nutritional value of the microalgae for industrial applications.
Implementation Method 1
The lighting may be produced by any means known to those skilled in the art, in particular one or more lamps, one or more tubes, one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
Implementation Method 2
Some microalgae are mixotrophic beings, capable of both heterotrophy (absorption of organic matter in the culture medium) and autotrophy (use of light to capture carbon via photosynthesis)
Implementation Method 3
They are absorbed by animals and humans in their food. Carotenoids have two main absorption peaks located around 440 and 475 nm
Data Source
AI summary
The present application relates to the field of culture of algae, in particular microalgae. The invention refers, in particular, to a method for culture of algae, advantageously of microalgae, characterized in that the particular culture conditions in terms of lighting and nutrients enables a biomass to be obtained which is constituted of microalgae having a quantity of chlorophyll that is at least low, advantageously very low, or even zero and a high quantity of antioxidant agents.