Microalgae strain separation using electrophoresis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the potential application of electrophoresis for separation of microalgae to select single cells of microalgae for the development of pure cultures of the desired strain. A mixed culture of Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus sp. was used in this study. A serial arrangement of mega-bore capillary tubes was designed to separate Chlorella vulgaris from Scenedesmus using different parameters such as size, charge, and morphologies under an electric field in very short time (30 min). The mixture of both species was successfully separated into several fractions with high resolution. Chlorella vulgaris was separated from Scenedesmus with 94 % purity. The characterization techniques were applied on each fraction to identify algae species and their properties. Finally, cell viability was examined after separation by reculturing the last separated fraction. This work presents a simple, fast, and effective method for microalgae separation with potential application at large scales.