A comprehensive analysis of an effective flocculation method for high quality microalgal biomass harvesting

Labeeuw, Leen; Commault, Audrey S.; Kuzhiumparambil, Unnikrishnan; Emmerton, Benjamin; Nguyen, Dinh Duc; Nghiem, Long D.; Ralph, Peter J.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141708

Cited by 39 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…3). This observation agrees with previous studies (Labeeuw et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2018). There is some variation in flocculation efficiency as well as the zeta potential of the initial and post-flocculation microalgae at the three growth phases between the two biological replicates (i.e.…”

Section: Flocculation Efficiency At Different Growth Phasessupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Polymer solution was dosed at 35 mg/g dry algal biomass. This dose was the optimal dose for C. vulgaris flocculation as reported in a previous study (Labeeuw et al, 2021). After polymer dosing, the microalgae suspensions were rapidly mixed for 1 minute at 200 rpm, followed by slow mixing for 5 minutes at 50 rpm.…”

Section: Experimental Protocolsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Flocculation by cationic polymer addition was 98% effective at flocculating Synechocystis sp. regardless of the growth phase, whereas it was 50% less effective for C. vulgaris and P. tricornutum at early stationary phase (Labeeuw et al, 2021). This variation may be attributed to differences in biomass concentration and algal biochemical composition at each growth phase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Factors governing microalgae harvesting efficiency by flocculation using cationic polymers

Nguyen

Emmerton

et al. 2021

Bioresource Technology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Flocculation Efficiency At Different Growth Phasessupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Experimental Protocolsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Factors governing microalgae harvesting efficiency by flocculation using cationic polymers

Nguyen

Emmerton

et al. 2021

Bioresource Technology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…These results could be translated to the utilisation of 2 mg of chitosan being capable of flocculating one gram of thermophilic cyanobacteria. In other studies, 250 mg of chitosan per g of stationary culture Synechocystis was required to achieve over 90% flocculation efficiency [ 34 ]. Another study on the same strain revealed that for flocculation efficiency exceeding 90% to be achieved within 1 h of settling requires a final chitosan concentration of at least 5 mg L −1 [ 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debottlenecking Thermophilic Cyanobacteria Cultivation and Harvesting through the Application of Inner-Light Photobioreactor and Chitosan

Zhang

Chen

Russel

et al. 2021

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Thermophilic cyanobacteria are a low-carbon environmental resource with high potential thanks to their innate temperature tolerance and thermostable pigment, phycocyanin, which enhances light utilisation efficiency and generates a high-value product. However, large-scale cultivation and harvesting have always been bottlenecks in unicellular cyanobacteria cultivation due to their micrometric size. In this study, a 40-litre inner-light photobioreactor (PBR) was designed for scaled-up cultivation of Thermosynechococcus elongatus E542. By analysing light transmission and attenuation in the PBR and describing it via mathematical models, the supply of light energy to the reactor was optimised. It was found that the hyperbolic model describes the light attenuation characteristics of the cyanobacterial culture more accurately than the Lambert–Beer model. The internal illumination mode was applied for strain cultivation and showed a two-fold better growth rate and four-fold higher biomass concentration than the same strain grown in an externally illuminated photobioreactor. Finally, the downstream harvesting process was explored. A mixture of chitosan solutions was used as a flocculant to facilitate biomass collection. The effect of the following parameters on biomass harvesting was analysed: solution concentration, flocculation time and flocculant concentration. The analysis revealed that a 4 mg L−1 chitosan solution is optimal for harvesting the strain. The proposed solutions can improve large-scale cyanobacterial biomass cultivation and processing.

show abstract

“…Numerous methods have been developed and examined for the removal of floating toxic cyanobacteria, mostly Microcystis sp. by mechanical harvesting (see [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] and references therein). Examples from large-scale operations, including biomass micro-screening and flocculation–flotation, are shown in Figure 2 .…”

Section: In-lake Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Outlook on Current and Emerging Mitigation and Control Approaches

Sukenik

2021

Microorganisms

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An intensification of toxic cyanobacteria blooms has occurred over the last three decades, severely affecting coastal and lake water quality in many parts of the world. Extensive research is being conducted in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the driving forces that alter the ecological balance in water bodies and of the biological role of the secondary metabolites, toxins included, produced by the cyanobacteria. In the long-term, such knowledge may help to develop the needed procedures to restore the phytoplankton community to the pre-toxic blooms era. In the short-term, the mission of the scientific community is to develop novel approaches to mitigate the blooms and thereby restore the ability of affected communities to enjoy coastal and lake waters. Here, we critically review some of the recently proposed, currently leading, and potentially emerging mitigation approaches in-lake novel methodologies and applications relevant to drinking-water treatment.

show abstract

A comprehensive analysis of an effective flocculation method for high quality microalgal biomass harvesting

Cited by 39 publications

References 68 publications

Factors governing microalgae harvesting efficiency by flocculation using cationic polymers

Factors governing microalgae harvesting efficiency by flocculation using cationic polymers

Debottlenecking Thermophilic Cyanobacteria Cultivation and Harvesting through the Application of Inner-Light Photobioreactor and Chitosan

Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Outlook on Current and Emerging Mitigation and Control Approaches

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About