Evidence Of The Drying Technique’s Impact On The Biomass Quality Of Tetraselmis Subcordiformis (Chlorophyceae)

Abstract

Rapid drying, cost-effective and safe, will increase the viability of using microalgae for several bio-industrial applications. In this study, five different drying techniques of microalgal biomass were investigated. These include freeze-drying, oven drying, air drying, sun drying, and microwave drying. Morphology, metabolite content, FAME profiling, chlorophyll content, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen were analyzed. Results showed that the freeze-drying technique preserves the highest amounts of chlorophyll, proteins, and lipids. Oven drying underperformed as it retained the lowest amount of chlorophyll, protein, and lipid content. More importantly, FAME profiling results showed that air drying was the best technique in maintaining the highest amount of Polyunsaturated fatty acids and more specifically docosahexaenoic acid. Furthermore, this process requires the least capital and energy needs. The findings from this study confirmed that the drying technique affects the microalga biomass quality.

Characterization of halotolerant microalga isolated from waterlogged habitats: Deciphering the biochemical profiling and unraveling the molecular identity

“…Results of statistical analysis showed that the freeze‐dried samples showed significantly higher ( p < 0.05) lipids (18.37 ± 0.20 mg g −1 dw) and total soluble sugars (44.88 ± 0.22 mg g −1 dw) as compared with oven‐dried and shade‐dried samples (Table 1). These results are in agreement with the observation of Aljabri et al [37] that drying techniques impact the biomass quality of Tetraselmis subcordiformis ( Chlorophyceae ) and reported maximum lipid content under the freeze‐drying method. The lipids in microalgae are enriched in PUFAs such as DHA, EPA, ALA, and so on, and free from cholesterol which is favorable in diseases like atherosclerosis, obesity, and blood pressure [38].…”