ABSTRACT
The population growth directly impacts the livestock, which increases the demand for protein source to produce animal food besides human food. Microalgae have a high protein content and are being used already in food, however the high productions costs are limiting its cultivation. One way to reduce microalgae cultivation costs is using agro-industrial wastes as nutrient source. The wastes generated by wine production, tomato pulp production and coffee grounds were evaluated as a nutrient source to cultivate microalgae aiming the production of biomass to be used in animal feed. This study shows, besides of the high quantity of waste production, they have potential to be used as nutrients due to their composition, rich in organic matter. The microalgae evaluated under the liquid nutrient composed by the referred wastes presented a growth rate within the range observed for commercial media.
