Growth and nutritional composition of Scenedesmus acuminatus (Lagerheim) (Chodat, 1902) in an alternative culture medium
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20950/Keywords:
Aquaculture effluent, Bioremediation, Circular economy, MicroalgaeAbstract
This study evaluated the biomass production of the microalga Scenedesmus acuminatus using aquaculture effluent as an alternative culture medium. The experiment was conducted in a controlled laboratory environment comparing two treatments: cultivation in aquaculture effluent and in a commercial NPK medium. Population growth, biomass production, nutrient removal efficiency, and the nutritional composition of the produced biomass were analyzed. The results demonstrated that S. acuminatus exhibited comparable growth in aquaculture wastewater and the NPK medium, with specific growth rates of 0.20 and 0.34⸱day-1, respectively, and no significant differences between treatments (p = 0.49). Biomass productivity was also statistically similar between the two culture media. Additionally, S. acuminatus efficiently removed ammonia (95.3%) and nitrate (99.4%) from aquaculture wastewater, highlighting its potential as a sustainable biological approach for nitrogen bioremediation. The biomass produced maintained a rich nutritional profile of proteins, lipids, and minerals, indicating its applicability across various industrial sectors. Thus, this study demonstrated that aquaculture wastewater can successfully replace a conventional culture medium for S. acuminatus, enabling comparable biomass production and efficient nitrogen removal. These findings provide new evidence supporting the integration of microalgae cultivation with intensive aquaculture as a sustainable strategy for resource recovery and circular bioeconomy.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Renan Nascimento, Raize Castro-Mendes, Jaime Paiva Lopes Aguiar, Francisca das Chagas do Amaral Souza, Edinaldo Nelson dos Santos-Silva
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