Spirulina
Large-scale industrial farming of spirulina. Generally, fresh water with added nutrients is used as the nutrient base, and the closed shallow water channel semi-continuous production method with mechanical stirring is used. The production process is as follows 4:
Algae seed cultivation pond → primary cultivation → secondary cultivation → production pond → harvesting → washing → dehydration → spray drying → sterilization → inspection → packaging → storage → pharmaceutical grade, food grade (or dehydration-natural drying-feed grade)
The output of harvested spirulina is expressed in grams of dry powder per cubic meter per day, and it can be harvested when the algae liquid is dark green.
Drying is the removal of moisture and the retention of active ingredients. The water content of spirulina powder is generally below 7 percent according to the standard. Since the protein content of spirulina is as high as 70 percent , it also contains chlorophyll, 8 percent -22 percent phycocyanin, about 17 percent polysaccharide, as well as vitamin A, vitamin B and a small amount of fat components, so it is required to be dried in an environment below 84 degree Otherwise, the effective active ingredients will be destroyed, and the crystal will be hardened, which will affect the quality of algal flour. Spirulina has high nutrition and is an alkaline aquatic microalgae. Its cell wall is not only thin, but also has good permeability. Therefore, it is required to achieve the goal of drying within 10 s in order to ensure the quality and ensure that its effective active substances are not damaged. There are many ways to dry spirulina, such as conventional sun drying, drying, drying, radiation, microwave, spray, freezer vacuum drying, etc. However, there are two principles that cannot be violated: first, it must be dried within 4 hours after harvesting, otherwise it will deteriorate; second, it must be dried quickly within 84 degree . The lower the drying temperature, the better the quality; on the contrary, the higher the temperature. If the time is long, the quality of algal powder will be poor. The particles of Spirulina are extremely fine, the surface area per unit weight is large, and it is easy to dry. It is suitable for spray drying, and it does not need to be ground or homogenized after drying. Drying, sun-drying, air-drying, etc. are all family-style methods, which can be used for the production of spirulina as a feed additive. The equipment and process required for this method are very simple, but a large amount of chlorophyll is destroyed, and the product is flaky and granular. Such as irregular shape, uneven, but also reprocessing