Culture of Macroalgae Spirogyra ellipsospora for Long-Term Experiments, Stock Maintenance and Biogas Production

The freshwater alga Spirogyra ellipsospora, a filamentous charophyte, collected from the stream, was identified on the basis of morpho-anatomical characters. In this study, we tried to utilize the natural water resource to develop the algae growth system by ecological engineering concept to develop a low cost medium for macroalgae growth. The outdoor photo-reactor was used to grow macroalgae through using natural water as medium. The results showed that the reactor had good performance on algae growth. Culture media for growth of this study species have not yet been tested for long-term experiments, stock maintenance and biogas production. Here we tested the S. ellipsospora growth with natural water medium in a 6-weeks laboratory experiment. Consequently, the study consists of laboratory tests showing S. ellipsospora growth, harvesting, chlorophyll extraction, biomass analysis and anaerobic fermentation for biogas production.