Introduction to Spirulina 關於螺旋藻

The species we will be using will be Arthrospira platensis. Its preference for an alkaline
environment (8.0 - 11.0) reduces the risk of infection while the relatively large size of its
trichomes allow it to be extracted more easily than other species of microalgae. The extracted
spirulina, after thorough cleansing, can be used as a fertilizer for household plants, consumed
as a kind of superfood etc.

我們產品所用的品種正稱為鈍頂節螺藻 (Arthrospira platensis)，選用這種生物的主 要原因有二：

一，它適合生長於偏鹼性（pH 8.0 - 11.0）的環境，能抑制其他微生物的生長；二，它的條狀體比單
細胞的藻類的細胞大，讓它能更容易地從營養液中分隔出來。螺旋藻營養價值極高，經過過濾及
沖洗後可作為肥料，甚至供人食用。

Figure: Spirulina under the microscope

顯微鏡下的螺旋藻

Scientific mechanism 運作原理

The carbon dioxide in air will dissolve into water and be absorbed by the cells of spirulina for
photosynthesis, in which inorganic molecules carbon dioxide and water are converted into
organic nutrients for growth. Oxygen formed in the process will then be released into the
atmosphere. Consequently, the carbon dioxide level decreases while the oxygen level
increases, preventing the carbon dioxide you breathed out from accumulating in the room.

You may notice that this is similar to growing a plant at your home, except instead of a common
bonsai, you're keeping a tank of green soup packed with nutrients!
空氣中的二氧化碳在融解在水中後會被螺旋藻的細胞吸收，以進行光合作用，將二氧化碳及水轉
化為有機物，並釋放出氧氣，從而將大氣中的二氧化碳濃度降低及提升氧氣濃度，避免空氣中的
二氧化碳含量過高。

如您所見，這與在家中放置植物有異曲同工之妙，不過您在種植的不是普通盆栽，而是一缸綠油
油的超級食物。

Equation of photosynthesis 光合作用之方程式：

6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2

Figure: Spirulina in culture medium solution with bubbles of oxygen on the surface
圖：培養基液中的螺旋藻，可見光合作用所產生之氧氣泡浮於水面

實驗結果 Experiment findings

A. Culture medium for spirulina 養殖螺旋藻用之培養基

Figure: Day 1 of experiment 實驗第一天

In this experiment, we have prepared 3 beakers of solution for growing spirulina: the SSD1+2
culture medium solution and the BG-11 culture medium solution, with the 2.5% salt (sodium
chloride) solution as a control.

在實驗中，我們利用三種不同的溶液養植螺旋藻，分別是：SSD1+2培養基液，BG-11培養基液及
作為對照的2.5%鹽水(氯化鈉溶液）。

以下是三種溶液的pH值：
The initial pH value of each solution (without spirulina) is as follow:

Solution Salt solution SSD1+2 BG-11

溶液 鹽水

pH 7.1 8.3 7.2

For measuring the biomass concentration of spirulina, a haemocytometer is used to count the
number of trichomes per unit area.
我們利用血細胞計數板數算特定範圍內的毛狀體數量，以量度螺旋藻的生物量濃度。

Figure: A haemocytometer holding samples of spirulina under the microscope.

圖: 顯微鏡下的載著螺旋藻樣本的血細胞計數板

Figure: Photomicrograph of spirulina on haemocytometer

圖：血細胞計數板上的螺旋藻之顯微照片
 Figure: Day 10 of experiment: the SSD1+2 medium solution is distinctly greener than the other
two
圖：實驗第十天：SSD1+2培養基液明顯地比另外兩者綠

約兩週後，我們得到了以下結果：
About 2 weeks later, we have come up with the following result:

*Data selection bias may occur as biomass concentration may differ in different parts of the solution.
*由於溶液不同位置的生物量濃度可能不同，不排除出現選擇性偏差。

We can thereby conclude that the SSD1+2 medium displays a significantly higher ability in
assisting the growth of spirulina.

A sound justification is that the SSD1+2 medium solution provides a sufficiently alkaline
environment, thus providing a suitable growing environment for the spirulina, (The optimum pH
value for the growth spirulina lies between 8.0 and 11.0.) which the other two solutions, which
are closer to neutral, fail to provide.
我們由此可以得出以下結論：在兩種培養基之中，SSD1+2培養基較適合用以培植螺旋藻。

主要原因之一，是因為SSD1+2培養基液偏鹼性，因此能夠為螺旋藻提供一個理想的生長環境（螺
旋藻適合生長於pH 8.0 - 11.0的環境中）。而更接近中性的鹽水及BG-11培養基則無法做到這一
點。
B. Effectiveness of removal of carbon dioxide with spirulina 以螺
旋藻移除二氧化碳之有效性

In this experiment, we measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in air before and after
passing through the spirulina using specialised sensors to test for the effectiveness of using
spirulina to remove carbon dioxide in air.

在這個實驗中，我們利用檢測儀量度空氣經過螺旋藻前後的二氧化碳濃度，以測試以螺旋藻移除空
氣中二氧化碳的有效性，

Figure: Experimental setup

圖：實險佈置

The experiments shows that spirulina is generally effective in removing carbon dioxide in air. 實
驗顯示，螺旋藻總體上能有效移除空氣中的二氧化碳。

The carbon dioxide level drops significantly at first, it is possible that carbon dioxide in air reacts
with the sodium hydrogencarbonate in the solution, causing a significant drop in co2 levels

This may cause the solution to become more acidic and inhibit the growth sprulina, while
promoting the growth of other bacterium. Prolonged aeration may not be suitable in growing
spirulina in SSD1+2 solution.

一開始二氧化碳水平顯著下降，有可能是空氣中的二氧化碳與溶液中的碳酸氫鈉發生反應，導致
二氧化碳水平顯著下降。

這可能會導致溶液變得更酸並抑制螺旋藻的生長，同時促進其他細菌的生長。 在 SSD1+2 溶液
中種植螺旋藻可能不應長時間泵氣。