The Application of Agricultural Wastes and Food Residues for Algae Cultivation

In recent years, algae have been considered as a rich source of valuable nutrients and diverse bioactive compounds in different studies and have got noticed by many researchers. Providing a suitable carbon source for algae cultivation with the aim of nutritional and medicinal uses, has made the production process expensive.

Recently, various studies have been carried out on cultivation techniques of different types of algae based on the use of new and inexpensive carbon sources. Agricultural and food waste are rich sources of carbon. Annually, 1.3 percent of the total volume of food in the world is turned into waste. Therefore, many studies have investigated the use of food waste as a substrate for algae cultivation. For example the use of various wastes and by-products of food factories, surplus products and agricultural products and even food industry wastewater for algae cultivation. This article discusses some of the research conducted in this field.

Due to the significant sugar and carbon content in agricultural and food waste, they can be regarded as a great substrate for algae cultivation for using them toward various food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. Independence of light in mixotrophic and heterotrophic cultivation has significantly reduced costs and space compared to autotrophic culture.

According to the results of various studies, it can be expected that the heterotrophic method for cultivating algae by use of agricultural wastes and food residues will play an important role in meeting future nutritional needs.