Effect of cell disruption on the use of Phormidium autumnale biomass by microalgal biorefinery from sugarcane processing

• Grant number: 25/10343-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Reinaldo Gaspar Bastos
• Grantee: Sara Alves Rezende
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Araras , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Biotechnological advances have shown that the metabolic diversity of microalgae, responsible for the incorporation and consumption of different carbon sources, suggests the capacity to produce a variety of biomolecules. When these systems involve the use of byproducts, they are known as "biorefineries", combined with the cultivation of microalgae, which are often heterotrophic and not limited by light, as an alternative for obtaining useful intracellular products. Vinasse from sugarcane processing is the wastewater generated in the distillation stage of the fermented must, with approximately 12 liters of effluent being obtained for each liter of ethanol produced. The high volume produced and the limitation of direct disposal in the soil due to its chemical and physical-chemical characteristics constitute a problem for the sugar-energy sector, usually involving costs with the concentration of vinasse and its transportation. In this sense, a microalgae cultivation system associated with the use of vinasse and with the total utilization of byproducts through biodigestion would close a cycle following the fundamentals of biorefineries. In this sense, the present scientific initiation proposal aims to evaluate the effect of cell disruption on the biodigestion of Phormidium autumnale and vinasse from sugarcane processing, comprising conducting microalgal cultivation tests in a benchtop bioreactor, biomass separation, study of the mechanical "disruption" of cells and anaerobic digestion together with the remaining vinasse. The research aims to advance the study of the technical feasibility of using vinasse as a culture medium for microalgae and generating a variety of bioproducts.