Nutrients Extracted from Chicken Manure Accelerate Growth of Microalga <i>Scenedesmus obliquus</i> HTB1

Abstract

Sustainable development using wastes as resources is a new paradigm. Chicken manure contains rich amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus and has been used as crop fertilizer. However, little is known about whether nutrients of chicken manure are suitable and efficient to support the rapid growth of microalgae. In this study, we explore the possibility of using nutrient extracted from chicken manure to grow microalgae. We used an algal strain <i>Scenedesmus</i> sp. HTB1, which is an oleaginous species with high CO 2 tolerance capability. The growth performance of HTB1 on various media amended with nutrient extracted from three different chicken manure sources was monitored and compared to the growth rate of HTB1 grown in the standard medium BG11. Meanwhile, the changes of total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), both organic and inorganic, were measured during the growth period. Culture media enriched with the nutrient extracted from two chicken manure sources outperformed the standard culture medium BG11 in terms of algal biomass production. When cultivated with manure nutrient, HTB1 utilized inorganic N efficiently, but consumed very little organic N during the experimental growth period. However, HTB1 was able to utilize both organic and inorganic phosphorus. We demonstrate that nutrient extracted from chicken manure support rapid growth and high biomass yield in microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus HTB1. Therefore chicken manure holds great promise to be used as a cost-effective and efficient fertilizer for large-scale production of microalgae.