| In the field of biotechnology, a lot of applications are known which can use these secondary metabolites. In this research Monodus subterraneus will be studied. Monodus subterraneus is a fresh water alga, which is surrounded by a cell wall. This algae produces eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) an omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid. In this project the alga Monodus subterraneus is cultivated in different kind of photo bioreactors. First, in small bubble column reactors we used an experimental design to find the effect of light intensity and temperature on the biomass yield. These correlated well and at this moment we are modelling an outdoor bubble column at which ECN grew Monodus subterraneus for one year. This project was financially supported through a grant from the Programme Economy, Ecology and Technology (E.E.T.) by the Netherlands' Department of Economic Affairs, the Department of Public Housing, Spatial planning and Environmental Protection, and the Department of Education, Cultural Affairs and Sciences. At this moment we're researching growth inhibition in high-density cultures of Monodus subterraneus, grown in flat panel photo bioreactors. Several aspects will be researched in this topic; the cultures will be grown in chemostats with medium replenishment and without medium replenishment, the productivity in both reactors will be studied and a bio-assay will be used to determine if the growth inhibition occurs due to an excreted inhibitor, medium imbalance or medium depletion. |
