Fangchao Zhao

Chlorella pyrenoidosa cultivation using anaerobic digested starch processing wastewater in an airlift circulation photobioreactor

To explore the integration of microalgae cultivation and anaerobic processing for wastewater treatment, we utilized an airlift circulation photobioreactor and a dynamic membrane reactor for microalgae cultivation in combination with an upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor for starch processing wastewater (SPW) treatment. Chlorella pyrenoidosa completely adapted to the digested SPW without any chemical additives, and it grew normally under a wide temperature range in different seasons. C. pyrenoidosa was always the dominant microorganism in the photobioreactors although bacteria and some wild type microalgae were observed. Optimal biomass growth and pollutants removal was achieved at temperatures between 35 and 38°C in summer, removing 65.99% of COD, 83.06% of TN, 96.97% of TP and a biomass productivity of 0.37gL(-1)d(-1). Temperature fluctuation significantly influenced lipid contents and FAMEs compositions in biomass. The results demonstrate the successful integration of microalgae biomass production and anaerobic processing for wastewater treatment.

Continuous cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa using anaerobic digested starch processing wastewater in the outdoors

Microalgae cultivation using wastewater might be a suitable approach to support sustainable large-scale biomass production. Its compelling characteristics included the recycling of nutrients and water resources, reducing carbon emissions and harvesting available biomass. In outdoor batch and continuous cultures, Chlorella pyrenoidosa completely adapted to anaerobic digested starch processing wastewater and was the dominant microorganism in the photobioreactor. However, seasonal changes of environmental conditions significantly influenced biomass growth and lipid production. The long-term outdoor operation demonstrated that the biomass concentration and productivity in continuous operations at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) can be successfully predicted using the kinetic growth parameters obtained from the batch culture. A moderate HRT (4days) in the summer provided the best microalgae and lipid production and achieved relatively high biomass concentrations of 1.29-1.62g/L, biomass productivities of 342.6±12.8mg/L/d and lipids productivities of 43.37±7.43mg/L/d.

Effect of temperature on extracellular organic matter (EOM) of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and effect of EOM on irreversible membrane fouling

Extracellular organic matter (EOM) can cause serious membrane fouling during the algae harvesting process. In this study, the secretion of EOM, including bound-EOM (bEOM) and dissolved-EOM (dEOM), by Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. pyrenoidosa) at different culturing temperatures, and their influences on membrane filtration, have been investigated. The secretion of EOM was markedly reduced at high temperatures. The specific EOM secretion rate (SEOM) reached 831.1 ± 55.3mg/g at the lowest temperatures of 15 °C; in contrast, the SEOM decreased to only 370-442 and 356-406 mg/g with temperature rising above 20-25 and 30-35 °C, respectively. Based on membrane filtration experiments, the influence of EOM on irreversible membrane fouling was studied. In a critical flux experiment, low critical flux (24 L/m(2)h) was observed in a system with a high EOM concentration. The fouled membranes were rinsed by water and then used for continuous filtration, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The results revealed that there was irreversible membrane fouling caused by EOM, and irreversible membrane fouling can be more serious when an algae solution contains high EOM levels.

Comparison of axial vibration membrane and submerged aeration membrane in microalgae harvesting.

The submerged aeration membrane (SAM) system and axial vibration membrane (AVM) system can mitigate membrane fouling. In this study, both systems were investigated to compare the performance of filtration and the membrane fouling in algae filtration. In 5-h filtration, the transmembrane pressure (TMP) of SAM reached to 70.0 kPa, while there was almost no increase in TMP for AVM. After continuous filtration, it could be found that there was hardly any algae cells on the membrane of AVM (0.11 g/m(2)), which was about 32.4 times less than that of SAM (3.56 g/m(2)). Compared with the SAM system, AVM had a lesser membrane fouling, regardless of the reversible fouling or irreversible fouling. By SEM, FTIR and EEM, it could be found there was less irreversible extracellular organic matter (EOM) on the membrane of AVM. By MW distribution, it could be observed that less EOM with high-MW adhered to membrane of AVM.

The filtration and fouling performance of membranes with different pore sizes in algae harvesting

In this study, ultrafiltration membranes with three different pore sizes were applied for algae harvesting to investigate filtration performance. The critical fluxes (JC) increased as the pore size increased, and the JC of 0.03-, 0.05- and 0.1-μm membranes were 20.0, 25.0 and 42.0Lm-2h-1, respectively. During continuous filtration, 0.7JC was selected as the operation flux and the 0.1-μm membrane had the highest initial flux and final flux. It also had the highest flux decline rate, and therefore, the 0.1-μm membrane was more appropriate for algae separation compared to the 0.03- and 0.05-μm membrane. The mechanism by which pore size influenced filtration performance and membrane fouling was presented from the viewpoint of permeate drag force (FD). A lower FD retarded the velocity of algae cells towards the membrane, which could decelerate the deposition of particles on the membrane and thus reduce the membrane fouling rate. As the pore size increased, the membrane hydraulic resistance (Rm) decreased, which led to a decrease of FD.

Chlorella pyrenoidosa cultivation in outdoors using the diluted anaerobically digested activated sludge

A freshwater green algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. pyrenoidosa) was cultured in outdoors using the diluted anaerobically digested activated sludge (ADAS). The outdoors batch culture in every season showed that C. pyrenoidosa can grow normally under natural conditions in the diluted ADAS (STE/ADAS=1.5/1, 3/1 and 5/1, v/v). Seasonal changes of environmental conditions significantly affected biomass growth and nutrient removal. Optimal biomass growth and nutrient removal was achieved at STE/ADAS=1.5/1 during summer culture, harvesting a maximum biomass concentration of 1.97 ± 0.21 g/L, average biomass productivity of 291.52 ± 33.74 g/m(3)/day (maximum value of 573.10 ± 41.82) and average lipids productivity of 37.49 ± 5.26 g/m(3)/day (maximum value of 73.70 ± 9.75); simultaneously, the microalgae growth effectively removed nutrients from the wastewater, including 105.6 ± 17.1 mg CODCr/L/day, 36.8 ± 6.1mg N/L/day and 6.1 ± 1.1 mg P/L/day.

Construction and application of the Synechocystis sp. PCC6803-ftnA in microbial contamination control in a coupled cultivation and wastewater treatment

Inspired by iron fertilization experiments in HNLC (high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll) sea areas, we proposed the use of iron-rich engineered microalgae for microbial contaminant control in iron-free culture media. Based on the genome sequence and natural transformation system of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, ftnA (encoding ferritin) was selected as our target gene and was cloned into wild-type Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. Tests at the molecular level confirmed the successful construction of the engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC6803-ftnA. After Fe(3+)-EDTA pulsing, the intracellular iron content of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803-ftnA was significantly enhanced, and the algae was used in the microbial contamination control system. In the coupled Synechocystis sp. PCC6803-ftnA production and municipal wastewater (MW, including Scenedesmus obliquus and Bacillus) treatment, Synechocystis sp. PCC6803-ftnA accounted for all of the microbial activity and significantly increased from 70% of the microbial community to 95%. These results revealed that while the stored iron in the Synechocystis sp. PCC6803-ftnA cells was used for growth and reproduction of this microalga in the MW, the growth of other microbes was inhibited because of the iron limitation, and these results provide a new method for microbial contamination control during a coupling process.