Chiara Samorì

Growth and nitrogen removal capacity of Desmodesmus communis and of a natural microalgae consortium in a batch culture system in view of urban wastewater treatment: part I.

The microalgal biomass applications strongly depend on cell composition and the production of low cost products such as biofuels appears to be economically convenient only in conjunction with wastewater treatment. As a preliminary study, in view of the development of a wastewater treatment pilot plant for nutrient removal and algal biomass production, a biological wastewater system was carried out on a laboratory scale growing a newly isolated freshwater algal strain, Desmodesmus communis, and a natural consortium of microalgae in effluents generated by a local wastewater reclamation facility. Batch cultures were operated by using D. communis under different growth conditions to better understand the effects of CO₂, nutrient concentration and light intensity on the biomass productivity and biochemical composition. The results were compared with those obtained using a natural algal consortium. D. communis showed a great vitality in the wastewater effluents with a biomass productivity of 0.138-0.227 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹ in the primary effluent enriched with CO₂, higher biomass productivity compared with the one achieved by the algal consortium (0.078 g L⁻¹ d⁻¹). D. communis cultures reached also a better nutrient removal efficiency compared with the algal consortium culture, with almost 100% for ammonia and phosphorous at any N/P ratio characterizing the wastewater nutrient composition. Biomass composition was richer in polysaccharides and total fatty acids as the ammonia concentration in the water decreased. In view of a future application of this algal biomass, due to the low total fatty acids content of 1.4-9.3 wt% and the high C/N ratio of 7.6-39.3, anaerobic digestion appeared to be the most appropriate biofuel conversion process.

Effective lipid extraction from algae cultures using switchable solvents

a Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Industriale (CIRI), University of Bologna, via S. Alberto 163, Ravenna, Italy. Fax: 0039-0544-937411; Tel: 0039-0544-937353; E-mail: chiara.samori3@unibo.it b Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium c Thermo-Chemical Conversion of Biomass Group, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands d Department of Chemistry “Ciamician”, University of Bologna, via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna Italy.

Secondary amines as switchable solvents for lipid extraction from non-broken microalgae

Lipids from algal biomass may provide renewable fuel and chemical feedstock in large quantities. The energy intensity of drying and milling of algae prior to extraction and of solvent recovery afterwards is a major obstacle. The objective is to use switchable solvents to extract oil directly from wet microalgae slurries without the need for drying and milling, and subsequently recover the extracted oil and solvent by simple phase splitting, using CO2 as trigger. In this work secondary amine solvents were investigated for lipids extraction, polarity switching and phase splitting ability upon contacting with CO2. For strain Desmodesmus sp. extraction yields from the wet algal slurries, with and without cell disruption, were comparable with Bligh & Dyer method yields. Oil and solvent recovery via phase separation was realized by CO2 induced phase splitting, making secondary amines a candidate for further development of an energy efficient lipid extraction technology for non-broken microalgae.

Assessing microalgae biorefinery routes for the production of biofuels via hydrothermal liquefaction

The interest in third generation biofuels from microalgae has been rising during the past years. Meanwhile, it seems not economically feasible to grow algae just for biofuels. Co-products with a higher value should be produced by extracting a particular algae fraction to improve the economics of an algae biorefinery. The present study aims at analyzing the influence of two main microalgae components (lipids and proteins) on the composition and quantity of biocrude oil obtained via hydrothermal liquefaction of two strains (Nannochloropsis gaditana and Scenedesmus almeriensis). The algae were liquefied as raw biomass, after extracting lipids and after extracting proteins in microautoclave experiments at different temperatures (300-375°C) for 5 and 15min. The results indicate that extracting the proteins from the microalgae prior to HTL may be interesting to improve the economics of the process while at the same time reducing the nitrogen content of the biocrude oil.

Synthesis of new polyethoxylated tertiary amines and their use as Switchable Hydrophilicity Solvents

New polyethoxylated tertiary amines were synthesised and applied as Switchable Hydrophilicity Solvents (SHS) in the extraction and recovery of lipids from algal cultures, bypassing harvesting and de-watering steps. The eco-toxicological profile of the new amines was explored by evaluating their potential in inhibiting algal growth, and deepened by measuring the acute toxicity towards the crustacean Daphnia magna and the ready biodegradability in water. Among the synthesised amines, the one bearing two ethoxy units, named amine 2, showed the best combination in terms of lipids extractive performances and toxicity; therefore it could be considered as a good alternative to N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine (DMCHA), at the moment the most studied and effective SHS.

Customizing Properties of β-Chitin in Squid Pen (Gladius) by Chemical Treatments

The squid pen (gladius) from the Loligo vulgaris was used for preparation of β-chitin materials characterized by different chemical, micro- and nano-structural properties that preserved, almost completely the macrostructural and the mechanical ones. The β-chitin materials obtained by alkaline treatment showed porosity, wettability and swelling that are a function of the duration of the treatment. Microscopic, spectroscopic and synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques showed that the chemical environment of the N-acetyl groups of the β-chitin chains changes after the thermal alkaline treatment. As a consequence, the crystalline packing of the β-chitin is modified, due to the intercalation of water molecules between β-chitin sheets. Potential applications of these β-chitin materials range from the nanotechnology to the regenerative medicine. The use of gladii, which are waste products of the fishing industry, has also important environmental implications.

Fast procedure for the analysis of poly(hydroxyalkanoates) in bacterial cells by off-line pyrolysis/gas-chromatography with flame ionization detector

Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) are polyesters formed by saturated short chain hydroxyacids, among which 3-hydroxybutanoic (HB) and 3-hydroxypentanoic (3-hydroxyvalerate, HV) are the most common monomers of homopolymers (e.g. poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB) and copolymers (e.g. poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate), PHB-HC). The most widely used approach for their determination is the polymer methanolysis followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the methylated monomers; this procedure generally requires the use of additional reagents (e.g. sulfuric acid) and is performed with harmful chlorinated solvents, such as chloroform. The development of fast routine solventless methods for the quantitative determination of PHAs and their monomeric composition is highly desirable to reduce sample pretreatment, speed up the analysis and decrease overall costs. It has been reported that under thermal treatment (e.g. pyrolysis, Py), PHAs are degraded in high yield (>40%, w/wPHA) into the corresponding 2-alkenoic acid (e.g. crotonic acid from PHB). This work aimed at investigating this reaction for direct analysis of PHAs in bacterial cells. The sample was directly subjected to pyrolysis and trapped pyrolysis products were analyzed by GC-FID. Off-line Py/GC-FID was first optimized on pure polymers with different monomer composition (PHB, PHB-HV, PHB-HC) and then applied to bacterial samples deriving from both mixed microbial cultures or selected strains, containing various types and amounts of PHAs. The Py/GC-FID method provided RSD <15% range, limit of detection of 100μg (1% PHAs in biomass), and results comparable to that of methanolysis (R(2)=0.9855), but with minimal sample pretreatment.

Nutrient Removal Efficiency and Physiological Responses of Desmodesmus communis at Different HRTs and Nutrient Stress Condition Using Different Sources of Urban Wastewater Effluents

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the nutrient removal efficiency and the physiological responses in terms of growth, biochemical composition and photosynthetic activity of the autochthonous freshwater algal strain Desmodesmus communis. Microalgae were grown in a primary municipal effluent under different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and in a two-phases process using both primary and secondary wastewater effluents. Semi-continuous cultures were operated for 7xa0day at 5-, 3- and 1.5-day HRT and the different dilution rate showed a greater influence on the biomass composition and nutrient removal efficiency. Removal of N-NH3 and P-PO4 was over 99xa0% and the highest accumulation of polysaccharides (57.2xa0wt.%) was obtained at high HRT (5xa0day); the maximum content of proteins (26.9xa0wt.%) was achieved at 1.5-day HRT, even if, under this condition, a clear inefficiency in terms of ammonia removal was observed. Moreover the accumulation of N-NH3 occurring at 1.5-day HRT caused the decrease of the photosynthetic response in terms of efficiency of light capture (α) and relative electron transport rate (rETR), both parameters extracted from the rapid light curves (RLC) measurements. No significant differences were observed for the total fatty acids (TFAs), with a content of 2–3.5xa0wt.% for each HRT condition. On the other hand, in the two-phases process, when a nutrient deprivation condition was induced by diluting the culture with the secondary wastewater effluent, the algal cells accumulated TFAs, achieving a maximum content of 9.7xa0wt.% and a great increment in terms of biomass (1.64u2009±u20090.02xa0gxa0L−1) due to the ability of this algal strain to accumulate intracellular N. The wide and accurate investigation of the different aspects related to the whole process represents a relevant point of novelty in this research field and suggests the operational conditions for the start-up of an open pond system for wastewater treatment and biomass production for further applications.