Development of a production size system for the mass culture of marine microalgae

Based on the previous work carried out in the small cultivation units installed in the "Palazzo" farm at Lamezia Terme (Calabria), a pilot plant for the outdoor mass culture of the green microalga Tetraselmis tetratele in fertilized seewater was realized. The plant includes five cultivation units (total area 560 sq metres) a digester of 1 cubic metre working volume and ancillary equipments for harvesting the biomass (by sedimentation) and seawater supply. The The cultivation units are provided with a new mixing device (mixing board) requiring a very low energy input. Researches carried out in the pilote plant have demonstrated the feasibility of the mariculture on land (MCL) process as a biofuel production system. The knowledges acquired are adequate for scaling-up the process to a full scale production plant. Since MCL is a versatile production system, in warm regions where the yield of biomass is very high it can find applications, besides energy production, in other fields, including aquaculture, wastewater reclamation, production of feeds and chemicals.