Leakage of Intracellular Substances from Blue-Green Algae, Spirulina platensis due to Agitation

Abstract

To clarify the effect of agitation on the leakage rate of intracellular substances from Spirulina platensis and Chlorella pyrenoidosa, we measured the ultraviolet absorption of culture media after agitation and subsequent removal of cells by filtration. The leakage rate of the intracellular substances from S. platensis was proportional to algal concentration to the power of 1.0 and to blade number to the power of 1.3. For Reynolds numbers in the range of 1.1–2.2×10⁴, the leakage rate constant of intracellular substances of S. platensis was 7×10⁻³ m³ · kg⁻¹ · h⁻¹, which was 1.4 times that of C. pyrenoidosa.