Wenguang Zhou

Characterization of a microalga Chlorella sp. well adapted to highly concentrated municipal wastewater for nutrient removal and biodiesel production.

The feasibility of growing Chlorella sp. in the centrate, a highly concentrated municipal wastewater stream generated from activated sludge thickening process, for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy production was tested. The characteristics of algal growth, biodiesel production, wastewater nutrient removal and the viability of scale-up and the stability of continuous operation were examined. Two culture media, namely autoclaved centrate (AC) and raw centrate (RC) were used for comparison. The results showed that by the end of a 14-day batch culture, algae could remove ammonia, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 93.9%, 89.1%, 80.9%, and 90.8%, respectively from raw centrate, and the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content was 11.04% of dry biomass providing a biodiesel yield of 0.12 g-biodiesel/L-algae culture solution. The system could be successfully scaled up, and continuously operated at 50% daily harvesting rate, providing a net biomass productivity of 0.92 g-algae/(L day).

Local bioprospecting for high-lipid producing microalgal strains to be grown on concentrated municipal wastewater for biofuel production

Mass cultivation of microalgae for biofuel production depends heavily on the performance of the microalgae strains used. In this study, 60 algae-like microorganisms collected from different sampling sites in Minnesota were examined using multi-step screening and acclimation procedures to select high-lipid producing facultative heterotrophic microalgae strains capable of growing on concentrated municipal wastewater (CMW) for simultaneous energy crop production and wastewater treatment. Twenty-seven facultative heterotrophic microalgae strains were found, among which 17 strains were proved to be tolerant to CMW. These 17 top-performing strains were identified through morphological observation and DNA sequencing as Chlorella sp., Heynigia sp., Hindakia sp., Micractinium sp., and Scenedesmus sp. Five strains were chosen for other studies because of their ability to adapt to CMW, high growth rates (0.455-0.498 d(-1)) and higher lipid productivities (74.5-77.8 mg L(-1)d(-1)). These strains are considered highly promising compared with other strains reported in the literature.

Integration of algae cultivation as biodiesel production feedstock with municipal wastewater treatment: Strains screening and significance evaluation of environmental factors

The objectives of this study are to find the robust strains for the centrate cultivation system and to evaluate the effect of environmental factors including light intensity, light-dark cycle, and exogenous CO2 concentration on biomass accumulation, wastewater nutrient removal and biodiesel production. The results showed that all 14 algae strains from the genus of Chlorella, Haematococcus, Scenedesmus, Chlamydomonas, and Chloroccum were able to grow on centrate. The highest net biomass accumulation (2.01 g/L) was observed with Chlorella kessleri followed by Chlorella protothecoides (1.31 g/L), and both of them were proved to be capable of mixotrophic growth when cultivated on centrate. Environmental factors had significant effect on algal biomass accumulation, wastewater nutrients removal and biodiesel production. Higher light intensity and exogenous CO2 concentration with longer lighting period promote biomass accumulation, biodiesel production, as well as the removal of chemical oxygen demand and nitrogen, while, lower exogenous CO2 concentration promotes phosphorus removal.

A hetero-photoautotrophic two-stage cultivation process to improve wastewater nutrient removal and enhance algal lipid accumulation

A hetero-photoautotrophic algal growth model was studied for improved wastewater treatment and low cost algal biofuel feedstock production. The microalga, Auxenochlorella protothecoides UMN280, was grown heterotrophically on concentrated municipal wastewater and then autotrophically with CO(2) supplementation (air, 1% and 5%, respectively). Strain UMN280 was harvested by self-sedimentation after the heterotrophic stage and the supernatant was aerated with different levels of CO(2) to facilitate autotrophic growth in the second stage. The maximal biomass concentration and lipid content at the first and second stages reached 1.12g/L and 28.90%, and 1.16g/L and 33.22%, respectively. The nutrient removal efficiencies for total phosphorus, ammonia, nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand at the end of the two-stage cultivation were 98.48%, 100%, 90.60% and 79.10%, respectively. The above process can be used to treat organic-rich wastewaters (e.g. industrial and animal manure wastewaters) to achieve the dual purpose of low-cost wastewater treatment and biofuel feedstock production.

Hydrothermal pretreatment of microalgae for production of pyrolytic bio-oil with a low nitrogen content.

Microalgae can be converted to an energy-dense bio-oil via pyrolysis; however, the relatively high nitrogen content of this bio-oil presents a challenge for its direct use as fuels. Therefore, hydrothermal pretreatment was employed to reduce the N content in Nannochloropsis oculata feedstock by removing proteins without requiring significant energy inputs. The effects of reaction conditions on the yield and composition of pretreated algae were investigated by varying the temperature (150-225°C) and reaction time (10-60 min). Compared with untreated algae, pretreated samples had higher carbon contents and enhanced heating values under all reaction conditions and 6-42% lower N contents at 200-225°C for 30-60 min. The pyrolytic bio-oil from pretreated algae contained less N-containing compounds than that from untreated samples and the bio-oil contained mainly (44.9% GC-MS peak area) long-chain fatty acids (C14-C18) which can be more readily converted into hydrocarbon fuels in the presence of simple catalysts.

Effect of wastewater-borne bacteria on algal growth and nutrients removal in wastewater-based algae cultivation system.

Centrate, a type of nutrient-rich municipal wastewater was used to determine the effect of wastewater-borne bacteria on algal growth and nutrients removal efficiency in this study. The characteristics of algal and bacterial growth profiles, wastewater nutrient removal and effect of initial algal inoculums were systematically examined. The results showed that initial algal concentration had apparent effect on bacterial growth, and the presence of bacteria had a significant influence on algal growth pattern, suggesting symbiotic relationship between algae and bacteria at the initial stage of algae cultivation. The maximum algal biomass of 2.01 g/L with 0.1g/L initial algal inoculums concentration can be obtained during algae cultivation in raw centrate medium. The synergistic effect of centrate-borne bacteria and microalgae on algae growth and nutrient removal performance at initial fast growth stage has great potential to be applied to pilot-scale wastewater-based algae wastewater system cultivated in continuous or semi-continuous mode.

Effect of light intensity on algal biomass accumulation and biodiesel production for mixotrophic strains Chlorella kessleri and Chlorella protothecoide cultivated in highly concentrated municipal wastewater

In this research, the effect of light intensity on biomass accumulation, wastewater nutrient removal through algae cultivation, and biodiesel productivity was investigated with algae species Chlorella kessleri and Chlorella protothecoide. The light intensities studied were 0, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 200 µmol m−2 s−1. The results showed that light intensity had profound impact on tested responses for both strains, and the dependence of these responses on light intensity varied with different algae strains. For C. kessleri, the optimum light intensity was 120 µmol m−2 S−1 for all responses except for COD removal. For C. protothecoide, the optimum light intensity was 30 µmol m−2 S−1. The major components of the biodiesel produced from algae biomass were 16‐C and 18‐C FAME, and the highest biodiesel contents were 24.19% and 19.48% of dried biomass for C. kessleri and C. protothecoide, respectively. Both species were capable of wastewater nutrients removal under all lighting conditions with high removal efficiencies. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012;109: 2222–2229.

Enhanced mixotrophic growth of microalga Chlorella sp. on pretreated swine manure for simultaneous biofuel feedstock production and nutrient removal.

The objectives were to assess the feasibility of using fermented liquid swine manure (LSM) as nutrient supplement for cultivation of Chlorella sp. UMN271, a locally isolated facultative heterotrophic strain, and to evaluate the nutrient removal efficiencies by alga compared with those from the conventionally decomposed LSM-algae system. The results showed that addition of 0.1% (v/v) acetic, propionic and butyric acids, respectively, could promote algal growth, enhance nutrient removal efficiencies and improve total lipids productivities during a 7-day batch cultivation. Similar results were observed when the acidogenic fermentation was applied to the sterilized and raw digested LSM rich in volatile fatty acids (VFAs). High algal growth rate (0.90 d(-1)) and fatty acid content (10.93% of the dry weight) were observed for the raw VFA-enriched manure sample. Finally, the fatty acid profile analyses showed that Chlorella sp. grown on acidogenically digested manure could be used as a feedstock for high-quality biodiesel production.

Growing Chlorella sp. on meat processing wastewater for nutrient removal and biomass production

In this work, Chlorella sp. (UM6151) was selected to treat meat processing wastewater for nutrient removal and biomass production. To balance the nutrient profile and improve biomass yield at low cost, an innovative algae cultivation model based on wastewater mixing was developed. The result showed that biomass yield (0.675-1.538 g/L) of algae grown on mixed wastewater was much higher than that on individual wastewater and artificial medium. Wastewater mixing eased the bottleneck for algae growth and contributed to the improved biomass yield. Furthermore, in mixed wastewater with sufficient nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies (68.75-90.38%) and total nitrogen removal efficiencies (30.06-50.94%) were improved. Wastewater mixing also promoted the synthesis of protein in algal cells. Protein content of algae growing on mixed wastewater reached 60.87-68.65%, which is much higher than that of traditional protein source. Algae cultivation model based on wastewater mixing is an efficient and economical way to improve biomass yield.

Utilization of municipal solid and liquid wastes for bioenergy and bioproducts production.

Municipal wastes, be it solid or liquid, are rising due to the global population growth and rapid urbanization and industrialization. Conventional management practice involving recycling, combustion, and treatment/disposal is deemed unsustainable. Solutions must be sought to not only increase the capacity but also improve the sustainability of waste management. Research has demonstrated that the non-recyclable waste materials and bio-solids can be converted into useable heat, electricity, or fuel and chemical through a variety of processes, including gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and landfill gas in addition to combustion, and wastewater streams have the potential to support algae growth and provide other energy recovery options. The present review is intended to assess and analyze the current state of knowledge in the municipal solid wastes and wastewater treatment and utilization technologies and recommend practical solution options and future research and development needs.