Syed Muhammad Usman Shah

Evaluation of Aerobic and Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Tetraselmis suecica and Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches by Response Surface Methodology

This study investigated co-cultivation of Tetraselmis suecica microalgae with Oil Palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) for anaerobic biomethane production and Palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment. The highest specific biogas production (0.1162 m3 kg-1 COD day-1) and biomethane yield (3900.8 mL CH4 L-1 POME day-1) was achieved with microalgae at 2 mL mL-1 POME, and OPEFB at 0.12 g mL-1 POME. Without co-digestion of microalgae, higher specific biogas production (0.1269 m3 kg-1 COD day-1) but lower biomethane yield (3641.8 mL CH4 L-1 POME day-1) were observed. Second order polynomial model fits the data well with less than 5% error. Higher removal efficiency (62-95%) of COD, BOD, TOC and TN were achieved by aerobic and anaerobic treatment of POME with microalgae than without microalgal treatment after 3 and 7 days of hydraulic retention time (HRT).

Effects of palm oil mill effluent media on cell growth and lipid content of Nannochloropsis oculata and Tetraselmis suecica

ABSTRACT In this study, palm oil mill effluent (POME) was used as an alternative medium for algal biomass and lipid production. The influence of different concentrations of filtered and centrifuged POME in sea water (1, 5, 10 and 15%) on microalgal cell growth and lipid yield were investigated. Both Nannochloropsis oculata and Tetraselmis suecica had enhanced cell growth and lipid accumulation at 10% POME with maximum specific growth rate (0.21 d–1 and 0.20 d–1) and lipid content (39.1 ± 0.73% and 27.0 ± 0.61%), respectively, after 16 days of flask cultivation. The total Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA) (59.24%, 68.74%); Monounsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA) (15.14%, 12.26%); and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA) (9.07%, 8.88%) were obtained for N. oculata and T. suecica, respectively, at 10% POME. Algal cultivation with POME media also enhanced the removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (93.6–95%), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) (96–97%), Total Organic Compound (TOC) (71–75%), Total Nitrogen (TN) (78.8–90.8%) and oil and grease (92–94.9%) from POME.

Integrated algal engineering for bioenergy generation, effluent remediation, and production of high-value bioactive compounds

Increased demand for energy worldwide has resulted in increasing interest in alternative renewable sources of biofuels. Demand for improved systems of bioenergy generation, environmental remediation, and coproduction of high value bioactive compounds has led to the potential use of algae in biomass utilization. In Malaysia, palm oil industries generate high amount of solid wastes. Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is estimated to be three times of the amount of crude palm oil produced. POME is a heavily polluting wastewater due to its high chemical oxygen demand (COD), high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and high contents of minerals such as nitrogen and phosphorus that can cause severe pollution to the environment and water resources. A combination of wastewater treatment and renewable bioenergy co-generation with recovery of high-value biochemicals would benefit the palm oil industry.

Biomethane Production and Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment by Co-Cultivation of Nannochloropsis oculata

Co-cultivation of Nannochloropsis oculata with Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB) was explored for biomethane production and POME treatment. The experimental results were analyzed and modeled using a multilevel factorial design (MFD) of response surface methodology (RSM). Maximum specific biogas production rate (0.126 m3 kg-1 COD day-1) and biomethane production (4813.0 mL CH4 L-1 POME day-1) were achieved with 2 mL mL-1 POME of microalgae and OPEFB 0.12 g mL-1 POME. POME treatment after 3 and 7 days with microalgae achieved higher removal efficiency (56-98%) of COD, BOD and TOC, than without microalgae.