Research Proposal/ First Six-Month Progress Report

on
Utilizing saline water for microalgal biomass production and extracting value-
added compounds
In
Faculty of Science

Under the Supervision of:

Submitted by:
Dr. Monika Sogani (Supervisor)
Damini Gupta
Research Scholar Department of Biosciences
Department of Biosciences Manipal University Jaipur
Prof. PJ John (Co-Supervisor)
Department of Zoology
University of Rajasthan
 CONTENTS

S.NO. CONTENT SLIDE NO.

1. TITLE OF RESEARCH 1
2. INTRODUCTION 1-2
3. LITERATURE REVIEW 3-4
4. GAPS TO BE ADDRESSED 5
5. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 6
6. OBJECTIVES 7
7. SCOPE OF STUDY 8
8. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY 9
9. METHODOLOGY 10
10. WORK DONE TILL DATE 11
11. PLAN FOR NEXT 6 MONTHS 12
12. TIMELINE 13
13. REFERENCES 14
 TITLE OF RESEARCH
TITLE OF RESEARCH

Utilizing saline water for microalgal biomass production and extracting value-added compounds

INTRODUCTION

1. Microalgae have gained significant interest for their rapid growth, capacity to adapt to varying environments, and
capability to concentrate beneficial chemicals while efficiently capturing nutrients (Usher et al., 2014).
Microalgae exhibit adaptability to diverse environments, thriving in both saline and freshwater conditions depending on the
circumstances. This demonstrates the versatile nature of these plant-like organisms.
Microalgae have attracted significant attention for their potential in CO2 sequestration, as their biomass offers versatile
applications, including supplementation in animal feed, biofertilizer production, and utilization as a feedstock for biofuel.
Consequently, their utilization contributes to resource recycling initiatives (Zabochnicka et al., 2022).
• Cultivating microalgae demands a considerable investment of resources like water, nutrients, and energy, leading to
significant costs. A promising approach to reduce the costs of cultivating microalgae is to use wastes like food waste or
wastewater as a growth medium (Osman et al., 2023).
 • Salinity serves as a constraining factor for the growth of
microalgae, directly impacting their biomass productivity.
It's important to highlight that these effects vary
significantly depending on the species involved. Numerous
studies have demonstrated that microalgae exhibit their
highest biomass productivity and chlorophyll content under
optimal saline conditions (Ishika et al., 2017).

Figure: Potential application of microalgae in producing

biofuel. Different biofuels can be produced from
microalgae through anaerobic digestion, fermentation,
transesterification process(Siddiki et al., 2022).
 Literature Review

Author Year Title Idea

The study focuses on optimizing the cultivation conditions and productivity of

the identified microalgal species in desalination brine concentrates. This
research could explore novel cultivation techniques and genetic modifications to
(Al Bazedi et al., Desalination concentrate microalgae cultivation: enhance biomass yield and biofuel production potential, thereby maximizing the
2023
2023) biomass production and applications environmental and economic benefits of using desalination brine for microalgae
cultivation. Additionally, investigating the feasibility of integrating microalgae
cultivation with existing desalination plants could offer a sustainable solution
for both water treatment and renewable energy production.
The study demonstrates on exploring innovative methods to harness the diverse
applications of algal biomass in the circular economy. This research could
(Zabochnicka et al., Algal Biomass Utilization toward Circular Economy involve developing integrated systems that utilize algae for wastewater
2022
2022) Magdalena treatment, biomass production, and biofuel generation, while also exploring
novel uses of algae-derived products in various industries such as eco-
construction, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture.

The Effect of Various Salinities and Light Intensities
on the Growth Performance of Five Locally Isolated
(Hotos & Microalgae [Amphidinium carterae, Nephroselmis
Avramidou, 2021) 2021 sp., Tetraselmis sp. (var. red pappas), Asteromonas
gracilis and Dunaliella sp.] in Laboratory Batch
Cultures
The study focuses on optimizing the growth conditions for microalgae species,
particularly emphasizing the role of light intensity and salinity in maximizing
biomass yield. This research could involve investigating the interactive effects
of light intensity and salinity on microalgae growth and productivity, aiming to
develop tailored cultivation protocols for different species to achieve optimal
biomass yields. Additionally, there is a need for standardizing methodologies for
assessing growth parameters like specific growth rate (SGR) across different
studies to facilitate better comparison and interpretation of results in the field of
microalgae cultivation.
Author Year Title Idea

Based on the conclusion drawn from this study, a new research idea could
(Liu & Yildiz, 2018) The effect of salinity concentration on algal focus on optimizing cultivation strategies and operational parameters for
2018 biomass production and nutrient removal from halophilic microalgae species like D. salina in wastewater treatment systems.
municipal wastewater by Dunaliella salina. This research could explore innovative methods to enhance nutrient removal
efficacy and biomass production while considering varying salinity levels.

The study explored refining predictive models for microalgae growth by

incorporating factors such as salinity, nitrogen stress, and shading effects. This
research could involve further exploration of the interactive effects of these
Incorporation of salinity, nitrogen, and shading factors on microalgae cultivation, aiming to develop more accurate and
(Gao et al., 2018) 2018 stress factors into the Huesemann Algae Biomass comprehensive models that can predict growth rates under varying
Growth model environmental conditions. Additionally, investigating the applicability of these
refined models across different experimental setups and cultivation systems
could provide valuable insights into optimizing microalgae production for
various applications, including biofuel production and wastewater treatment.
 GAPS TO BE ADDRESSED

• Conducting economic assessments to determine the feasibility and competitiveness of utilizing wastes for microalgal
biomass production and compound extraction compared to conventional methods.
 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The high cost associated with growing microalgae in freshwater necessitates the exploration of alternative
cultivation methods, particularly utilizing saline water.
 OBJECTIVES

1. Formulation of waste as a feedstock for microalgal biomass production.

2. Optimization of microalgal productivity in waste.
3. Biochemical characterization of microalgae grown in waste.
4. Analysis of the potential application of microalgal biomass.
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

• The scope of this study involves investigating how microalgae can be grown using saline water instead of freshwater.
• The study investigates the salinity levels that microalgae can tolerate.
• Furthermore, our research will focus on extracting valuable compounds, such as pigments and lipids, from these
microalgae. These compounds are widely used in industries like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels.
• Overall, the study aims to understand the potential of using saline water for microalgal biomass production and
extracting valuable compounds to benefit various industries.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Resource optimization

Environment sustainability

Alternative energy source

Value added compounds

Adaptation to climate change

 METHODOLOGY

Selection of microalgae species

Culture medium preparation

Inoculation and cultivation

Optimization of growth
conditions

Pigment extraction and analysis

Lipid extraction and analysis

 WORK DONE TILL DATE

1. Completed the course work (including 1 MOOC course)

FIRST SEMESTER

Subject Code Subject Credit(s) Grade Exam

BT7145 Environment biotechnology 4 SEP-DEC 2023

BT8016 Introduction to Algae 2 SEP-DEC 2023

DR8007 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY-SCIENCE 4 SEP-DEC 2023

DR8009 RESEARCH & PUBLICATION ETHICS 2 SEP-DEC 2023

Credits earned 12
Total Credits
GPA
2. Coursework certificate
 PLAN FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS

• Literature review
• Plan and start executing the methodology
• Paper publication
 TIMELINE

Task Plan of work (In Months)

0-6 7-12 13-18 19-24 25-30 31-36
Literature review
Preparation & submission of research
proposal
Execution of experimental
methodology to achieve selected
objectives
Course Work
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Paper writing
Communication of paper
Thesis writing and submission
 REFERENCES

• Al Bazedi, G., Ismail, M. M., Mugwanya, M., & Sewilam, H. (2023). Desalination concentrate microalgae cultivation: biomass production
and applications. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 9(4), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-023-00887-2

• Gao, S., Waller, P., Khawam, G., Attalah, S., Huesemann, M., & Ogden, K. (2018). Incorporation of salinity, nitrogen, and shading stress
factors into the Huesemann Algae Biomass Growth model. Algal Research, 35(November 2017), 462–470.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2018.09.021

• Hotos, G. N., & Avramidou, D. (2021). The effect of various salinities and light intensities on the growth performance of five locally
isolated microalgae [amphidinium carterae, nephroselmis sp., tetraselmis sp. (var. red pappas), asteromonas gracilis and dunaliella sp.] in
laboratory batch c. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9111275

• Liu, Y., & Yildiz, I. (2018). The effect of salinity concentration on algal biomass production and nutrient removal from municipal
wastewater by Dunaliella salina. International Journal of Energy Research, 42(9), 2997–3006. https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3967

• Siddiki, S. Y. A., Mofijur, M., Kumar, P. S., Ahmed, S. F., Inayat, A., Kusumo, F., Badruddin, I. A., Khan, T. M. Y., Nghiem, L. D., Ong, H.
C., & Mahlia, T. M. I. (2022). Microalgae biomass as a sustainable source for biofuel, biochemical and biobased value-added products: An
integrated biorefinery concept. Fuel, 307(September 2021), 121782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2021.121782

• Zabochnicka, M., Krzywonos, M., Romanowska-Duda, Z., Szufa, S., Darkalt, A., & Mubashar, M. (2022). Algal Biomass Utilization toward
Circular Economy. Life, 12(10), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101480