Using winery effluents for cultivating microalgae as bio-additives for vineyards

The pursuit of sustainable food production and efficient water management has fostered collaborations among academia, industry, and producers to explore innovative business models. One such initiative involves cultivating microalgae using effluents from the wine production industry, transforming waste into valuable products, and creating circular economic benefits. Wineries can repurpose their effluents to grow microalgae, generating new revenue streams while promoting sustainability. Although microalgae biomass grown in winery effluents is unsuitable for direct human consumption due to potential contamination risks from the pollutants and microorganisms present in such effluents, it is rich in essential nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon, making it ideal for use as agro-industrial additives. The REDWine project investigates this potential by focusing on producing Chlorella vulgaris biomass as an agricultural product. The study focused on incorporating red wine production effluents in culture media to promote microalgae mixotrophic growth, conducted in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks and a 1700 mL photobioreactor. The findings are promising, despite challenges such as growth inhibition and microbial contamination at higher effluent concentrations. Chlorella vulgaris demonstrated significant growth even at effluent concentrations of 30% (v/v), provided that the concentration of polyphenols in effluents is low, with optimal biomass productivity observed at 10% (v/v). This highlights the feasibility of using winery effluents to cultivate microalgae for sustainable agriculture. This study highlights the potential of using winery effluents to produce C. vulgaris strain A4F_Ma016 biomass, opening new avenues for innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture and the circular economy.