Analysis in Spirulina cultivations, Nitrogen and PH
ANALYSIS FOR SPIRULINA CULTIVATIONS
At NTSensors, we provide a cost effective solution for the analysis in Spirulina platensis growing medium at large scale production.
The commercial mass-production of Spirulina has gained worldwide attention for its use in human food supplements, animal feed and pharmaceuticals. Spirulina contains up to its 70% weight in protein, high amounts of essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins (such as B12), antioxidants (such as phycobiliproteins and carotenoids) and polysaccharides.
Production of Spirulina with reduced costs is necessary when considering large-scale cultivation for industrial purposes. The growth of Spirulina and the composition of the biomass produced depend on many factors, the most important of which are nutrient availability, temperature and light. The cost of nutrients is considered the second most important factor which influences the cost of Spirulina bio mass production, only after labor. Therefore, it is of special economic interest to know the concentrations of the nutrients available in real-time.
The most important nutrients in Spirulina growing medium are Sodium, Potassium, Phosphate, Nitrate, Sulfate, Chloride, Magnesium, Calcium, and Amonium.
In particular, the levels of Nitrate and Amonia are of critical importance in the large scale production of Spirulina platensis. Several studies have drawn attention to the importance of monitoring the concentration of nitrogen in phyto-plankton cultures, because it may modify the metabolic activities and consequently, the composition and nutritional value of microalgae and cianobacteries, which is important to consider in aquaculture practices.
Other important nutrients, such as Potassium, Calcium, Sodium, Chloride and Magnesium are part of the Spirulina organs and contribute in different key processes for the organism growth. The right balance of all these nutrients provide the right medium for the optimal growth of Spirulina platensis.
PH analysis is also a key aspect of analysis in Spirulina cultivations growing medium, as pH determines the optimum growth of Spirulina platensis cianobacteria and at the same time prevents the presence of pests. Spirulina grows in alcaline pHs between 9,3 and 10,5. This pH naturally limits the growth of pests, so that no phytosanitary treatment for pest control (such as herbicides or pesticides) is required.
NTSensors solutions for the analysis of Spirulina growing medium
NTSensors Imacimus10 ISE meter multi-ion equipment is the most complete solution for a quick, inexpensive and reliable measurement of up to 10 parameters in Spiruline growing medium in real time. With Imacimus10 equipment you can measure 7 nutrients together with pH, conductivity and water hardness. For the analysis in Spirulina cultivations medium we recommend to measure these 7 nutrients: Nitrate, Ammonium, Calcium, Chloride, Potassium, Sodium and Magnesium.
Imacimus5 ISE meter kit allows the simultaneous analysis of four nutriens and pH. An apropiate ISE kit for Spirulina growing medium analysis would be Nitrate, Ammonium, Potassium and Magnesium analysis.
For the analysis of a unique ion and pH, NTSensors offers several ion meter solutions, such as Nitrate and pH meter or Ammonium and pH meter.
With a measuring range of 1 to 10.000 ppm, NTSensors Imacimus10, Imacimus5 and ISE meters provide a fast and reliable solution for the measurement of the key nutrients in commercial mass-production of Spirulina.
