Protein production by Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis in solid state cultivation using sugarcane bagasse as support

The genus Arthrospira comprises a group of filamentous multicellular cyanobacteria and can be used for animal feed and human food. Solid state fermentation or cultivation (SSF) involves the use of a culture medium composed of solid material with given moisture content. No studies have been published about the cultivation of microalgae or cyanobacteria on solid medium. Furthermore, although sugar-cane bagasse is used as source of energy in alcohol distilleries in Brazil, the excess could be a support to photosynthetic microorganism growth. The experimental design methodology was used to evaluate the protein production by Arthrospira platensis under SSF using sugarcane bagasse as support, taking into account the moisture content of the medium, light intensity and inoculum concentration. Moisture was found to have a strong influence on the performance of the process. The best conditions were: moisture of 98.8%; inoculum concentration of 0.15 g biomass·kg wet culture medium^-1 and light intensity of 6.0 klx.