Cultivation of Cyanobacteria Spirulina in Desalination Brine Discharge

The constituents of the reject brine have potential to be used for photosynthetic microorganisms includingSpirulina after adjustment as nutrient sources. In this study, cyanobacteria Spirulina was selected becauseof its adaptation to high pH, temperature and salinity tolerance. Spirulina were cultivated in varioussalinity levels of ۳۵ - ۶۵% of desalination brine discharge and a control experiment in Zarrouk culturemedium under artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps. Most of the obtained data show that longercultivation time is required for Spirulina to reach the maximal growth in higher salinity concentrationscompare to synthetic culture mediums such as Zarrouk culture medium. However, the data of dry cellweight productions are comparable to that of reported in the literature with synthetic culture media.Results revealed that cyanobacteria Spirulina can grow fairly in reject brine and have significant effect onremoving salts and ions from brine discharge of desalination processes. In addition, biomass productionof Spirulina can contribute to economic benefits in terms of water usage, environmental protection andfeedstock production.

Keywords:

desalination brine discharge , culture medium , Spirulina cultivation , bioremediation