148
o. Pulz and K. Scheibenbogen
Though artificial illumination, in contrast to freely available natural light,
allows a better control of growth parameters, energy costs will restrict the
application only to highly valuable bioproducts. With respect to the agreements
of the pharmaceutical industry, there is a need for closed, fully sterilizable
reactors which at present are limited to a working volume of a few litres. The
development of such a technology with scale-up suitability, e.g. internal illumination by light distribution systems like optical fibres with highest growth
yields, would open up completely new perspectives with respect to heterotrophic and mixotrophic growth. The use of carbohydrate-rich byproducts as
substrate for some algal strains could help to close the gap with classical
biotechnological processes of mass cultivation. Beside technological obstacles,
there is a demand for expanded screening of pharmaceutically interesting
biosubstances with thousands of species still waiting for their potentials to be
discovered. Today, the budget for high quality phototrophic biomass sometimes
exceeds the price of the product itself, as is the case of arachidonic acid from
Porphyridium.
In general it is not possible to favour a certain cultivation technique, but the
diversity of photobioreactor concepts will increase because of the variety of
species demanded and optimized growth conditions. The very sensitive cultivation needs of dinoftagellates would be in contrast to stress induced product
accumulation, as one would proceed in antioxidant production. Considering the
individual process steps, the reactor design should result in an integration of
down-stream procedures. Depending on the cultivation purpose, highly concentrated algal suspension, flocculated biomass or cell disruption by enhanced
shear forces may reduce the production costs drastically.
7 References
1. Mueller HJ (1984) Okologie. VEB Fischer Verlag, Jena, Germany (ger)
2. B/Shin H, Pulz O (1991) Phototrophe Mikroorganismen. In: Rutloff H (ed) Lebensmitteltechnologie. Akademie Verlag Berlin, p 165-180, 1976, Neuauflage 1991
3. Graham JM (1991) J Protozool 38:66
4. Burlew JS (ed) (1953) In: Algal culture from laboratory to pilot plant. Carnegie Institution of
Washington, Washington DC, p 357
5. Soeder CJ (1986) An historical outline of allied algology. In: Richmond A (ed) Handbook of
microalgal mass culture. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, p 25
6. Richmond A (1983) Phototrophic microalgae. In: Dellweg H (ed) Biotechnology. Verlag
Chemie, Deerfield Beach, p 109
7. Oswald WJ (1988a) Microalgae and waste-water treatment. In: Borowitzka MA Borowitzka
LJ (eds) Microalgal biotechnology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 305
8. Shelef G, Oswald WJ, McGauhey PH (1970) J of the Sanitary Engineering Division of
American Society of Civil Engineers 96:91
9. Sogokenkyusho E (1991) Japanese patent 3.022.990
10. Roe SP (1994) An evaluation of marine biotechnology for atmosphere control in diesel- electric
powered submarines. ECB6: Proceedings of the 6th European congress on biotechnology,
Florence, p 1125
o. Pulz and K. Scheibenbogen
Though artificial illumination, in contrast to freely available natural light,
allows a better control of growth parameters, energy costs will restrict the
application only to highly valuable bioproducts. With respect to the agreements
of the pharmaceutical industry, there is a need for closed, fully sterilizable
reactors which at present are limited to a working volume of a few litres. The
development of such a technology with scale-up suitability, e.g. internal illumination by light distribution systems like optical fibres with highest growth
yields, would open up completely new perspectives with respect to heterotrophic and mixotrophic growth. The use of carbohydrate-rich byproducts as
substrate for some algal strains could help to close the gap with classical
biotechnological processes of mass cultivation. Beside technological obstacles,
there is a demand for expanded screening of pharmaceutically interesting
biosubstances with thousands of species still waiting for their potentials to be
discovered. Today, the budget for high quality phototrophic biomass sometimes
exceeds the price of the product itself, as is the case of arachidonic acid from
Porphyridium.
In general it is not possible to favour a certain cultivation technique, but the
diversity of photobioreactor concepts will increase because of the variety of
species demanded and optimized growth conditions. The very sensitive cultivation needs of dinoftagellates would be in contrast to stress induced product
accumulation, as one would proceed in antioxidant production. Considering the
individual process steps, the reactor design should result in an integration of
down-stream procedures. Depending on the cultivation purpose, highly concentrated algal suspension, flocculated biomass or cell disruption by enhanced
shear forces may reduce the production costs drastically.
7 References
1. Mueller HJ (1984) Okologie. VEB Fischer Verlag, Jena, Germany (ger)
2. B/Shin H, Pulz O (1991) Phototrophe Mikroorganismen. In: Rutloff H (ed) Lebensmitteltechnologie. Akademie Verlag Berlin, p 165-180, 1976, Neuauflage 1991
3. Graham JM (1991) J Protozool 38:66
4. Burlew JS (ed) (1953) In: Algal culture from laboratory to pilot plant. Carnegie Institution of
Washington, Washington DC, p 357
5. Soeder CJ (1986) An historical outline of allied algology. In: Richmond A (ed) Handbook of
microalgal mass culture. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, p 25
6. Richmond A (1983) Phototrophic microalgae. In: Dellweg H (ed) Biotechnology. Verlag
Chemie, Deerfield Beach, p 109
7. Oswald WJ (1988a) Microalgae and waste-water treatment. In: Borowitzka MA Borowitzka
LJ (eds) Microalgal biotechnology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 305
8. Shelef G, Oswald WJ, McGauhey PH (1970) J of the Sanitary Engineering Division of
American Society of Civil Engineers 96:91
9. Sogokenkyusho E (1991) Japanese patent 3.022.990
10. Roe SP (1994) An evaluation of marine biotechnology for atmosphere control in diesel- electric
powered submarines. ECB6: Proceedings of the 6th European congress on biotechnology,
Florence, p 1125