Composition and rheological properties of microalgae suspensions: Impact of ultrasound processingShow others and affiliations
2020 (English)In: Algal Research, ISSN 2211-9264, Vol. 49, article id 101960Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
In this study the rheological properties of aqueous suspensions of three microalgae species, Nannochloropsis gaditana, Scenedesmus almeriensis and Spirulina platensis, were investigated as a function of solids content, and related to their composition and microstructure. In addition, the impact of ultrasound processing on their structuring ability was also studied. The less rigid character of the Spirulina platensis cell walls (with very low carbohydrate contents) and the presence of extracellular components promoted cell-cell interactions, yielding suspensions which showed a shear thinning behaviour at lower concentrations than Nannochloropsis gaditana and Scenedesmus almeriensis. It is noteworthy that the three species showed different viscoelastic properties at 25 wt.% total solids. Spirulina platensis suspensions showed a more elastic behaviour and lower frequency dependence, characteristic of weak gels, whilst Nannochloropsis gaditana and Scenedesmus almeriensis behaved more like viscous liquids. The ultrasound treatment did not affect the cell wall integrity, but it promoted the release of intracellular components (some of which could have been partially degraded) and disrupted physical interparticle interactions in Nannochloropsis gaditana and Scenedesmus almeriensis. This has an impact on the rheological properties, increasing the viscosity of Nannochloropsis gaditana suspensions, whilst the viscosity of Scenedesmus almeriensis suspensions was reduced. The outcomes of this work give insights into the exploitation of these microalgae species in soft materials for food, pharma and other technological applications.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier B.V. , 2020. Vol. 49, article id 101960
Keywords [en]
Cell wall polysaccharides, Microalgae, Rheology, Suspensions, Ultrasounds
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-45072DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2020.101960Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85085584115OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-45072DiVA, id: diva2:1449775
Note
Funding details: European Cooperation in Science and Technology, COST; Funding text 1: This work was supported by the COST Action ES1408 European network for algal-bioproducts (EUALGAE).
2020-06-302020-06-302023-10-05Bibliographically approved