Development of equipment to enable the commercialization of fresh spirulina microalgae

• Grant number: 23/16717-3
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Process Engineering of Agricultural Products
• Principal Investigator: Florent Diego Anne Gilson
• Grantee: Florent Diego Anne Gilson
• Company: SPIRULINA EPICURA LTDA
• CNAE: Aqüicultura em água salgada e salobra
• Associated researchers: Ana Teresa Lombardi
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/02562-3 - Optimization and Monitoring of Spirulina Cultivation through Innovative Equipment., BP.TT; 24/22910-3 - Development of equipment to enable the comercialization of fresh spirulina microalgae, BP.PIPE

Abstract

We need to adapt agricultural production and our food consumption to mitigate climate change, challenging the 21st century. Spirulina is a microorganism with high nutritional value, being an excellent functional food. Its production is sustainable due to low usage of natural resources, including water and land space. However, the commercialization of dried spirulina involves production processes that reduce its nutritional, functional, and culinary benefits. Fresh spirulina, on the other hand, is an unaltered food that retains all its healthy benefits and culinary qualities, which can attract more consumers than its dried form. The production of fresh spirulina requires equipment to minimize the risks of bacterial contamination or oxidation. The company Epicura has been testing prototypes of equipment designed in France for the production of fresh spirulina, which need to be redesigned for commercial-scale use. Therefore, we intend to model a new prototype using 3D design to seek technical solutions and construct equipment using 3D printing to be tested at the Epicura farm. Samples of fresh spirulina will be treated with the new equipment as well as conventional equipment. These samples will be analyzed at the algae biotechnology laboratory at the Federal University of São Carlos to measure the quality of fresh spirulina and its shelf life. (AU)