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Wastewater treatment by local microalgae strains for CO2 sequestration and biofuel production

Ansari, Abeera A. and Khoja, Asif Hussain and Nawar, Azra and Qayyum, Muneeb and Ali, Ehsan (2017) Wastewater treatment by local microalgae strains for CO2 sequestration and biofuel production. APPLIED WATER SCIENCE, 7 (7). pp. 4151-4158.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13201-017-0574-9

Abstract

Currently, the scientific community is keenly working on environmental-friendly processes for the production of clean energy and sustainable development. The study was conducted to cultivate microalgae in raw institutional wastewater for water treatment, enriched production of biomass and CO2 sequestration. The strains which were used in this study are Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp. which were isolated from Kallar Kahar Lake, Pakistan. Both strains were cultivated in synthetic growth medium (Bold's Basal Medium) to enhance biomass production. Afterward, microalgae cultures were inoculated in wastewater sample in mixotrophic mode under ambient conditions. The impurities in wastewater were successfully removed from the original sample by the 7th day of operation. COD 95%, nitrate 99.7% and phosphate 80.5% were removed by applying Scenedesmus sp. Meanwhile, Chlorella sp. reduced 84.86% COD, 98.2% nitrate and 70% phosphate, respectively. Interestingly, sulfates were removed from wastewater completely by both strains. Besides being useful in wastewater remediation, these microalgae strains were subsequently harvested for lipid extraction and potential biofuel production was determined. Therefore, the applied method is an environmentally safe, cost-effective and alternative technology for wastewater treatment. Furthermore, the achieved biomass through this process can be used for the production of biofuels.

Item Type:Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:wastewater treatment, microalgae, COD, nutrients, biofuel
Subjects:T Technology > TP Chemical technology
Divisions:Chemical and Energy Engineering
ID Code:77308
Deposited By: Narimah Nawil
Deposited On:05 Mar 2019 02:54
Last Modified:05 Mar 2019 02:54

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