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Phycotechnology refers to the technological applications of algae, both microalgae and macroalgae. [1]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2018) |
Phycotechnology refers to the technological applications of algae, both microalgae and macroalgae. [1]
Currently micro-algae are being exploited for environmental protection as the species of Chlorella, Chlamydomonas , and Scenedesmus carry out selective uptake, accumulation and biodegradation of pollutants and thus help in remediation. They are used in biological reclamation of sewage since they can immobilize heavy metals from aquatic systems.
Microalgae can be used as biocontrol agents like 'Insect' a commercial bio-insecticide sold in USA, prepared from the dead biomass of diatom frustules.
Algae are an excellent feed stock for green fuel as they are used for the production of biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biomethanol, biobutanol, and recently biohydrogen.
Microalgae are of significant use in healthcare. Chlorellin from the green microalga Chlorella is an effective antibiotic against Gram positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Algae is extremely useful in various fields. An example for natural phycotechnology is the converting of atmospheric nitrogen into bioaccessible nitrogenous compounds by diazotrophic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Species of cyanobacteria like Nostoc , Arthrospira (Spirulina) and Aphanizomenon are used as food and feed due to their easy digestibility and nutrient content. Species of Dunaliella provide products like glycerol, carotenoids, and proteins. Algal-produced proteins can be biofactories for the production of therapeutic substances. [2]
Algae is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular microalgae, such as Chlorella,Prototheca and the diatoms, to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelp, a large brown alga which may grow up to 50 metres (160 ft) in length. Most are aquatic and autotrophic and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types, such as stomata, xylem and phloem, that are found in land plants. The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds, while the most complex freshwater forms are the Charophyta, a division of green algae which includes, for example, Spirogyra and stoneworts.
An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term algae encompasses many types of aquatic photosynthetic organisms, both macroscopic multicellular organisms like seaweed and microscopic unicellular organisms like cyanobacteria. Algal bloom commonly refers to the rapid growth of microscopic unicellular algae, not macroscopic algae. An example of a macroscopic algal bloom is a kelp forest.
Spirulina is a biomass of cyanobacteria that can be consumed by humans and animals. The three species are Arthrospira platensis, A. fusiformis, and A. maxima.
Chlorella is a genus of about thirteen species of single-celled green algae belonging to the division Chlorophyta. The cells are spherical in shape, about 2 to 10 μm in diameter, and are without flagella. Their chloroplasts contain the green photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll-a and -b. In ideal conditions cells of Chlorella multiply rapidly, requiring only carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, and a small amount of minerals to reproduce.
Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist individually, or in chains or groups. Depending on the species, their sizes can range from a few micrometers (μm) to a few hundred micrometers. Unlike higher plants, microalgae do not have roots, stems, or leaves. They are specially adapted to an environment dominated by viscous forces.
Phycocyanin is a pigment-protein complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, along with allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin. It is an accessory pigment to chlorophyll. All phycobiliproteins are water-soluble, so they cannot exist within the membrane like carotenoids can. Instead, phycobiliproteins aggregate to form clusters that adhere to the membrane called phycobilisomes. Phycocyanin is a characteristic light blue color, absorbing orange and red light, particularly near 620 nm, and emits fluorescence at about 650 nm. Allophycocyanin absorbs and emits at longer wavelengths than phycocyanin C or phycocyanin R. Phycocyanins are found in cyanobacteria. Phycobiliproteins have fluorescent properties that are used in immunoassay kits. Phycocyanin is from the Greek phyco meaning “algae” and cyanin is from the English word “cyan", which conventionally means a shade of blue-green and is derived from the Greek “kyanos" which means a somewhat different color: "dark blue". The product phycocyanin, produced by Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Spirulina, is for example used in the food and beverage industry as the natural coloring agent 'Lina Blue' or 'EXBERRY Shade Blue' and is found in sweets and ice cream. In addition, fluorescence detection of phycocyanin pigments in water samples is a useful method to monitor cyanobacteria biomass.
Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.
A photobioreactor is a bioreactor that utilizes a light source to cultivate phototrophic microorganisms. These organisms use photosynthesis to generate biomass from light and carbon dioxide and include plants, mosses, macroalgae, microalgae, cyanobacteria and purple bacteria. Within the artificial environment of a photobioreactor, specific conditions are carefully controlled for respective species. Thus, a photobioreactor allows much higher growth rates and purity levels than anywhere in nature or habitats similar to nature. Hypothetically, phototropic biomass could be derived from nutrient-rich wastewater and flue gas carbon dioxide in a photobioreactor.
Anastasios Melis is an American biologist at the University of California, Berkeley who elucidated the possibility of creating hydrogen from algae. He is currently Professor of Plant & Microbial Biology in the institution and Editor-in-Chief of the Planta journal.
Scenedesmus is a genus of green algae, in the class Chlorophyceae. They are colonial and non-motile.
Auxenochlorella protothecoides, formerly known as Chlorella protothecoides, is a facultative heterotrophic green alga in the class Trebouxiophyta known for its potential application in biofuel production. It was first characterized as a distinct algal species in 1965, and has since been regarded as a separate genus from Chlorella due its need for thiamine for growth. Auxenochlorella has been found in a wide variety of environments from acidic volcanic soil in Italy to the sap of poplar trees in the forests of Germany. Its use in industrial processes has been studied, as the high lipid content of the alga during heterotrophic growth is promising for biodiesel; its use in wastewater treatment has been investigated, as well.
Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. When made from seaweed (macroalgae) it can be known as seaweed fuel or seaweed oil.
TerraVia Holdings, Inc. was a publicly held biotechnology company in the United States. TerraVia used proprietary technology to transform a range of low-cost plant-based sugars into high-value oils and whole algae ingredients. TerraVia supplies a variety of sustainable algae-based food ingredients to a number of brands, which have included Hormel Food Corporation, Utz Quality Foods Inc., and Enjoy Life Foods. TerraVia also sold its own culinary algae oil under the Thrive Algae Oil brand.
An algae bioreactor is used for cultivating micro or macro algae. Algae may be cultivated for the purposes of biomass production (as in a seaweed cultivator), wastewater treatment, CO2 fixation, or aquarium/pond filtration in the form of an algae scrubber. Algae bioreactors vary widely in design, falling broadly into two categories: open reactors and enclosed reactors. Open reactors are exposed to the atmosphere while enclosed reactors, also commonly called photobioreactors, are isolated to varying extent from the atmosphere. Specifically, algae bioreactors can be used to produce fuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol, to generate animal feed, or to reduce pollutants such as NOx and CO2 in flue gases of power plants. Fundamentally, this kind of bioreactor is based on the photosynthetic reaction which is performed by the chlorophyll-containing algae itself using dissolved carbon dioxide and sunlight energy. The carbon dioxide is dispersed into the reactor fluid to make it accessible for the algae. The bioreactor has to be made out of transparent material.
Arthrospira is a genus of free-floating filamentous cyanobacteria characterized by cylindrical, multicellular trichomes in an open left-hand helix. A dietary supplement is made from A. platensis and A. maxima, known as spirulina. The A. maxima and A. platensis species were once classified in the genus Spirulina. Although the introduction of the two separate genera Arthrospira and Spirulina is now generally accepted, there has been much dispute in the past and the resulting taxonomical confusion is tremendous.
Aphanizomenon flos-aquae is a species of cyanobacteria which is commercially processed into a dietary supplement. Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) is known to contain nutrients including essential fatty acids, active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, minerals, proteins, complex carbohydrates, and phytochemicals and is marketed as a nutritional supplement.
Nasrin Moazami is an Iranian medical microbiologist and biotechnologist. She received her Ph.D. in 1976, from the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University. Moazami is the pioneer of biotechnology and microalgae-based fuels in Iran.
Microalgae or microscopic algae grow in either marine or freshwater systems. They are primary producers in the oceans that convert water and carbon dioxide to biomass and oxygen in the presence of sunlight.
Sammy Boussiba is a professor emeritus at the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Chlorella vulgaris is a species of green microalga in the Division Chlorophyta. It is mainly used as a dietary supplement or protein-rich food additive in Japan.