Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026

Quantification of Heavy Metals and Other Inorganic Contaminants on the Productivity of Microalgae
Published on: July 10, 2015
Algal bioproducts derived from suspended solids in intensive land-based aquaculture
Sarah A Castine1, Nicholas A Paul, Marie Magnusson
1AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and School of Marine and Tropical Biology & Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. s.castine@cgiar.org
Abstract:
Land-based aquaculture produces suspended solids in culture pond and settlement pond waters that could be harvested as a bioresource. Suspended solids were quantified, characterised and harvested from these two sources to assess their suitability for conversion to bioproducts. The suspended solids of settlement ponds were less concentrated (87.6±24.7mgL(-1)) than those of culture ponds (131.8±8.8mgL(-1)), but had a higher concentration of microalgae (27.5±4.0%) and consequently higher particulate organic carbon (24.8±4.7%) and particulate nitrogen (4.0±0.8%). The microalgal community also differed between sources with a higher concentration of fatty acids in the biomass from settlement ponds. Consequently, biochar produced from biomass harvested from settlement ponds was higher in organic carbon and nitrogen, with a lower cation exchange capacity. In conclusion, we characterised a renewable and potentially valuable bioresource for algal bioproducts derived from suspended solids in intensive land-based aquaculture.
Related Concept Videos
Biofuels
Green Algae
Red Algae
Bioreactor Design and Operational System
Other Algae
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons

