Production of carotenoids from Dunaliella salina: Process development with red-light for large scale production

9-cis β-carotene has been implicated to play a central role in protecting against diseases including retinal dystrophies, chronic plaque psoriasis and atherosclerosis, and can be produced in high concentration by the halotolerant green microalga Dunaliella salina, especially in the presence of red light. D. salina is currently cultivated at industrial scale in either open pond raceways or photobioreactors but cost-effective systems for applying red light in cultivation for a reliable, low-cost production of 9-cis β-carotene need to be developed and tested.

A multidisciplinary research programme in algal biotechnology, supported by the departments of Science and Chemical Engineering, is available for research aimed at designing a sustainable method to produce valuable carotenoids, especially 9-cis β-carotene, in large-scale industrial microalgal cultivation facilities, based on light transformation in combination with micro-algal photosynthesis.

Models describing important parameters that control carotenoid productivity, based on measurement of the distribution of light intensity of different light wavelength within algal cultures, will be developed, then tested in different arrangements in photobioreactors and open pond raceways, from laboratory to pilot scale, in order to facilitate the delivery of a sustainable low-cost solution for producing 9-cis β-carotene at industrial scale.