Supplementing wastewater with NPK fertilizer as a cheap source of nutrients in cultivating live food (Chlorella vulgaris)

Introduction The decline in fishery resources from the wild has led to an ever increasing focus on aquaculture in recent years. With increasing aquaculture of animal species, there is an increasing need for suitable microalgae in the production of these animals. However, cultivation of microalgae in expensive pure chemical media is one of the major challenges facing large-scale cultivation of microalgae. Purpose The present study investigated the suitability of aquaculture wastewater (AWW) supplemented with NPK (nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium) fertilizer as a cheap source of nutrient to cultivate a microalga Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris). Methods C. vulgaris with an initial cell density of 0.8 x 10(6) cells/mL was batch cultured in AWW supplemented with NPK at 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 g/L and BBM for 20 days under laboratory conditions using 2000 mL Erlenmeyer flasks. The proximate composition, chlorophyll, minerals, and vitamins analysis of C. vulgaris biomass were done using standard analytical methods. Results The highest values in optical density (4.872 +/- 0.025), dry cell weight (2.858 +/- 0.015 g/L), specific growth rate (0.2097 +/- 0.0038 day(-1)), and biomass productivity (0.1701 +/- 0.0007 g/L/day) were obtained in C. vulgaris grown in AWW + 1.0 NPK medium. The total chlorophyll, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate content of the microalgae biomass were in the range of 0.05-0.862%, 44.062-57.089%, 17.064-23.260%, and 15.217-21.896%, respectively. Furthermore, microalgae grown in AWW + 1.0 NPK showed good vitamin and mineral content compared to BBM grown alga. Conclusion These findings indicated that the AWW + 0.1 NPK, AWW + 0.5 NPK, and AWW + 1.0 NPK are potential growth media for C. vulgaris cultivation and can replace the BBM medium, which is very expensive and less accessible to users.

Automated summary

The study investigated the use of aquaculture wastewater supplemented with NPK as a cheap source of nutrient for cultivating Chlorella vulgaris. It was found that growing C. vulgaris in AWW + 1.0 NPK medium resulted in the highest biomass productivity. The microalgae grown in AWW + 1.0 NPK also showed good vitamin and mineral content compared to the expensive BBM medium.