The optimization of centrifugal pump driving horizontal tubular photobioreactor for enhancing astaxanthin production using heterotrophic Haematococcus pluvialis

Haematococcus pluvialis is the prime source of natural astaxanthin for commercial exploitation. The large-scale cultivation of H. pluvialis is one of the key technologies for the development of natural astaxanthin industry. So far, horizontal tubular photobioreactor (HTPBR) circulated by a centrifugal pump has been the main PBR for the large-scale cultivation of H. pluvialis. Shear stress is a negative factor in microalgal cultivation at different scales, particularly for large-scale cultivation. To reduce the adverse impact of shear stress, the tolerance of H. pluvialis to the shear stress during the induction stage was first investigated in this study. H. pluvialis aplanospore was not sensitive to stresses between 19.18 and 27.32 Pa, but was resulted in about 30% cell death under shear stress between 27.32 and 63.84 Pa. Accordingly, two centrifugal pumps with different impellers was selected in 400 L HTPBRs to study the outdoor photoinduction for astaxanthin accumulation. The highest astaxanthin productivity and astaxanthin concentration were obtained in HTPBRs using a centrifugal pump equipped with three unshrouded backward-bladed impellers. The HTPBR was then successfully scaled up to 800 L with a similar performance, showing good scalability.

Automated summary

Haematococcus pluvialis is a prime source of natural astaxanthin for commercial exploitation, and large-scale cultivation using horizontal tubular photobioreactor (HTPBR) with a centrifugal pump is a key technology for astaxanthin industry. The study found that H. pluvialis has tolerance to shear stress during the induction stage, and using a centrifugal pump with three unshrouded backward-bladed impellers in HTPBR can achieve the highest astaxanthin productivity and concentration. The scaled-up 800 L HTPBR showed good scalability with similar performance.