Growth-medium Sterilization Via Decomposition of Ca(ClO)2 by H2O2 for Cultivation of Microalgae Nannochloropsis Oculata UTEX 2164

Abstract

This study evaluated a potential sterilization process that uses calcium hypochlorite (Ca(ClO)2) as a disinfectant and hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) as a neutralizing agent for monoculture processes of microalgae (Nannochloropsis oculata). The results showed that no contaminants(prokaryote) were present when the Ca(ClO)2 concentration was greater than 0.010%. The use of an equivalent amount of H2O2 completelyneutralized Ca(ClO)2 and had an additional bactericidal effect because of the formation of singlet oxygen. No substantial differencewas observed in the biomass accumulation and chlorophyll contents compared to those in cultures sterilized using conventional physicalmethods such as autoclaving. Therefore, chemical sterilization using Ca(ClO)2 and H2O2 has an excellent economic advantage, and weexpect the proposed ecofriendly chemical sterilization method to become a critical culture technology for microalgae-relatedindustrialization.