Microalgal Growth in Paper Industry Effluent: Coupling Biomass Production with Nutrients Removal

Applied Sciences

Ana L. Gonçalves¹  José C. M. Pires¹  Ana F. Esteves¹  Bruna Porto²  Antônio A. Ulson de Souza²  Selene M. A. Guelli Ulson de Souza²  Vítor J. P. Vilar³ 

[1] LEPABE—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal;Laboratory of Numerical Simulation of Chemical Systems and Mass Transfer (LABSIN-LABMASSA), Federal University of Santa Catarina, Chemical and Food Engineering Department, PO Box 476, 88040-900 Florianópolis/SC, Brazil;Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering—Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials (LSRE-LCM), Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal;

关键词: biomass production;    Chlorella vulgaris;    microalgae;    nutrients removal;    paper industry effluent;    effluent treatment;   

DOI  :  10.3390/app10093009

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Paper and pulp industries produce effluents with high phosphorus concentrations, which need to be treated before their discharge in watercourses. The use of microalgae for this purpose has attracted the attention of researchers because: (i) microalgae can assimilate phosphorus (one of the main nutrients for their growth); and (ii) growing on effluents can significantly reduce the costs and environmental impact of microalgal biomass production. This study evaluated the growth and ability of Chlorella vulgaris to remove the phosphorus from a secondary-treated effluent of a Portuguese paper company. Batch experiments were performed for 11 days using different dilutions of the effluent to evaluate its inhibitory effect on microalgae. Results showed that the non-diluted effluent inhibited microalgal growth, indicating that this bioremediation process is possible after a previous dilution of the effluent. Regarding phosphorus removal, promising results were achieved, especially in the experiments conducted with the most diluted effluent: removal efficiencies obtained in these conditions were (54 ± 1)%. Another interesting finding of this study was microalgal growth in flakes’ form (mainly due to the compounds present in the effluent and to the pH values achieved), which can be an important economic advantage for biomass recovery after the remediation step.

【 授权许可】

Unknown