Obtaining blue colouring from algae cultivation

The Blue Chain project is looking at possibilities to realise the commercial cultivation of algae in greenhouses in the Western Brabant and Flanders region. The Centre of Expertise Biobased Economy is involved with two parts of this project.

Firstly, the lectureship, Biobased Products, is looking at the isolation and stabilisation of blue colouring from algae. Blue colouring is an interesting commercial product for algae cultivation. During the past period, the project team succeeded in isolating the blue colouring. However, the colouring is unfortunately not yet stable, and quickly fades. Stability is the topic of the next research stage.

In addition to the isolating of blue colouring from algae, the CoE BBE is also involved with research into the possibility of cultivating duckweed on waste water from algae cultivation. The lectureship Biobased Energy is looking at the opportunities of isolating proteins from duckweed, and use this in non-food applications. During the past period, researchers looked at the composition of duckweed, and research was started into various isolation techniques. Additionally, the possibilities of using duckweed as feed have been researched. A report on this will be available mid-2017.

Source: Centre of Expertise Biobased Economy

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