Analysis of Chlorella vulgaris Growth in Milk Whey as feedstock

Microalgae use has increased in recent years due to the need to produce large amounts of biofuels from renewable sources. Microalgae use has been limited by the limited supply of carbon dioxide as carbon source in the autotrophic metabolism of this organism. This study presents the possibility of growing microalgae like Chlorella vulgaris in a residue of the dairy industry as whey, which has become an environmental problem due to its high production and the relatively poor final disposal. In this way it is important to adapt the microorganism to use its heterotrophic metabolic pathways. When C. vulgaris was grown heterotrophically in a culture medium using whey as carbon source, the number of cell biomass increased 5 times the initial concentration(105.250.000 cel/mL) after 120 h of fermentation time. This study demonstrates the possibility of growing microalgae in agroindustrial wastes.