Lara Mendez

Enhancing methane production of Chlorella vulgaris via thermochemical pretreatments

To enhance the anaerobic digestion of Chlorella vulgaris, thermochemical pretreatments were conducted. All pretreatments markedly improved solubilisation of carbohydrates. Thermal treatments and thermal treatments combined with alkali resulted in 5-fold increase of soluble carbohydrates while thermal treatment with acid addition enhanced by 7-fold. On the other hand, proteins were only solubilized with thermo-alkaline conditions applied. Likewise, all the pretreatments tested improved methane production. Highest anaerobic digestion was accomplished by thermal treatment at 120°C for 40 min without any chemical addition. As a matter of fact, hydrolysis constant rate was doubled under this condition. According to the energetic analysis, energy input was higher than the extra energy gain at the solid concentration employed. Nevertheless, higher biomass organic load pretreatment may be an option to achieve positive energetic balances.

Algaculture integration in conventional wastewater treatment plants: Anaerobic digestion comparison of primary and secondary sludge with microalgae biomass

This study evaluated the feasibility of using microalgae biomass as feedstock for anaerobic digestion together with other biomasses (primary and secondary sludge) normally generated in WWTP. Raw microalgae biomass anaerobic biodegradability (33%) was higher than that of secondary sludge (23%). Thermal pretreatment enhanced 62% and 16% methane yield for Chlorellavulgaris and secondary sludge, respectively. When both substrates were codigested, methane yields remained low. On the other hand, primary sludge supported the highest anaerobic biodegradability (97%) and when combined with thermally pretreated C. vulgaris, methane yields were higher (13-17%) than the ones expected theoretically. Despite the high protein content of those substrates and the high nitrogen mineralization, no ammonia inhibition was detected. Thereby, this study showed that algae biomass is a potential cosubstrate for biogas production together with municipal wastewater sludge.

Protease cell wall degradation of Chlorella vulgaris: Effect on methane production

In order to optimize the enzymatic dosage and microalgae biomass loads subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis prior anaerobic digestion of Chlorella vulgaris, organic matter solubilisation and methane production were investigated. Experimental data using protease dosage of 0.585 AU g DW(-1) showed that increasing biomass loads up to 65 g L(-1) did not affect markedly the hydrolysis efficiency (51%). Enzymatically pretreated biomasses subjected to anaerobic digestion enhanced methane production by 50-70%. The attempt of decreasing the enzymatic dosages revealed diminished hydrolysis efficiency concomitantly with a decreased methane production enhancement. In agreement with the good results observed for organic matter conversion into biogas, total nitrogen mineralization was attained for enzymatically pretreated biomass. Despite the high protein content of the biomass and the biocatalyst used in the present study no ammonia inhibition was detected.

Microbial communities of biomethanization digesters fed with raw and heat pre-treated microalgae biomasses

Microalgae biomasses are considered promising feedstocks for biofuel and methane productions. Two Continuously Stirred Tank Reactors (CSTR), fed with fresh (CSTR-C) and heat pre-treated (CSTR-T) Chlorella biomass were run in parallel in order to determine methane productions. The methane yield was 1.5 times higher in CSTR-T with regard to CSTR-C. Aiming to understand the microorganism roles within of the reactors, the sludge used as an inoculum (I), plus raw (CSTR-C) and heat pre-treated (CSTR-T) samples were analyzed by high-throughput pyrosequencing. The bacterial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi and Firmicutes. Spirochaetae and Actinobacteria were only detected in sample I. Proteobacteria, mainly Alfaproteobacteria, were by far the dominant phylum within of the CSTR-C bioreactor. Many of the sequences retrieved were related to bacteria present in activated sludge treatment plants and they were absent after thermal pre-treatment. Most of the sequences affiliated to the Bacteroidetes were related to uncultured groups. Anaerolineaceae was the sole family found of the Chloroflexi phylum. All of the genera identified of the Firmicutes phylum carried out macromolecule hydrolysis and by-product fermentation. The proteolytic bacteria were prevalent over the saccharolytic microbes. The percentage of the proteolytic genera increased from the inoculum to the CSTR-T sample in a parallel fashion with an available protein increase owing to the high protein content of Chlorella. To relate the taxa identified by high-throughput sequencing to their functional roles remains a future challenge.