Assessing Oil Content of Microalgae Grown in Industrial Energetic-Laden Wastewater

RoyChowdhury, Abhishek; Abraham, Juliana; Abimbola, Tobi; Lin, Yanxia; Christodoulatos, Christos; Lawal, Adeniyi; Koutsospyros, Agamemnon; Braida, Washington

doi:10.1007/s40710-019-00396-5

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The biomass areal productivity for each pond was then averaged to arrive at the productivity number. Algae slurry samples from all reactors were concentrated by gravity settling and centrifugation as described in RoyChowdhury et al (2019), and the total solid (TS) and volatile solids (VS) of each sample were measured. Elemental analysis of inoculum and biomass obtained was carried out by a CHN elemental analyzer.…”

Section: Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating biological and chemical CO2 sequestration using green microalgae for bioproducts generation

Abraham¹,

Prigiobbe²,

Abimbola³

et al. 2023

Front. Clim.

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Microalgae cultivation is considered an attractive negative emission technology (NET) due to its ability to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere as well as from flue gases. Moreover, some microalgae can uptake dissolved carbon in the form of bicarbonate (HCO3-) and grow well by removing nutrients from various wastewater effluents without competing with freshwater resources. Conventional carbon mineralization is another NET where carbon is fixed into carbonate minerals such as calcite (CaCO3), magnesite (MgCO3), nesquehonite (MgCO3-3H2O), and nahcolite (NaHCO3), which can be reused in various applications such as construction and cosmetics, and in this case, to supply carbon to microalgae. Previous initial laboratory studies demonstrated the possibility of using metastable carbonates as a source of carbon for biomass growth of the freshwater microalga Scenedesmus obliquus. In this study, we present results from an experimental and modeling work where 100 L open raceway reactors were used to grow an algae polyculture using industrial nitrogen-rich wastewater. In addition, carbonates such as MgCO3-3H2O and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) were added to the ponds to primarily buffer the pH and maintain it within the acceptable algae physiological values and to provide extra carbon to the cultures. Cultures using BG-11 growth medium and without addition of carbonates were run as controls. Continuous online monitoring of pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen was performed while nutrients content and dry weight of algae culture were measured offline daily. A mathematical model coupled with geochemistry was implemented to describe the overall process of algae growth, carbonate dissolution, and solution composition. Biomass harvested from the raceway reactors was concentrated and oil and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) content were determined. Results showed that biomass and oil content obtained were comparable to controls, indicating a successful metabolic-based pH control by the addition of carbonates in the ammonium-based media. Furthermore, FAME analysis revealed different profiles depending on the source of carbon used. Overall, this study suggests that integrating both types of NET strategies can contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions while producing biomass that can be further processed to generate a variety of bioproducts.

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Section: Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating biological and chemical CO2 sequestration using green microalgae for bioproducts generation

Abraham¹,

Prigiobbe²,

Abimbola³

et al. 2023

Front. Clim.

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“…The productivity for each pond was then averaged to obtain the average areal productivity, expressed as g AFDW per m 2 per day (g AFDW/m 2 d). Algal slurry samples from reactors R1 and R2 were received at SIT for additional dewatering by centrifugation as described in [28]. The total solids (TS) and volatile solids (VS) of each sample were determined following the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) TS and VS analytical procedures [29].…”

Section: Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once the 100 L reactors achieved a high concentration of biomass (~1 g/L), the algal liquor was transported to the industrial facility and used to seed the on-site 1000 L reactors. As stated in our previous laboratory and indoor pilot work [23,28,30], S. obliquus strain was originally selected due to its high growth rate, ability to grow in wastewater streams, and improved lipid content when cultured in N-depleted media. However, in this study, the scaling up to an outdoor environment showed a rapid development of various species, opening the possibility of developing a polyculture more adaptable to the local environmental conditions.…”

Section: Seeding the Reactors: Developing A Resilient Consortiummentioning

confidence: 99%

On-Site Pilot-Scale Microalgae Cultivation Using Industrial Wastewater for Bioenergy Production: A Case Study towards Circular Bioeconomy

Abraham,

Abimbola,

Braida

et al. 2023

Bioengineering

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This case study assesses the valorization of industrial wastewater streams for bioenergy generation in an industrial munition facility. On-site pilot-scale demonstrations were performed to investigate the feasibility of algal growth in the target wastewater on a larger outdoor scale. An exploratory field study followed by an optimized one were carried out using two 1000 L open raceway ponds deployed within a greenhouse at an industrial munition facility. An online system allowed for constant monitoring of operational parameters such as temperature, pH, light intensity, and dissolved oxygen within the ponds. The original algal seed evolved into an open-air resilient consortium of green microalgae and cyanobacteria that were identified and characterized successfully. Weekly measurements of the level of nutrients in pond liquors were performed along with the determination of the algal biomass to quantitatively evaluate growth yields. After harvesting algae from the ponds, the biomass was concentrated and evaluated for oil content and biochemical methane potential (BMP) to provide an estimate of the algae-based energy production. Additionally, the correlation among biomass, culturing conditions, oil content, and BMP was evaluated. The higher average areal biomass productivity achieved during the summer months was 23.9 ± 0.9 g/m2d, with a BMP of 350 scc/gVS. An oil content of 22 wt.% was observed during operation under low nitrogen loads. Furthermore, a technoeconomic analysis and life cycle assessment demonstrated the viability of the proposed wastewater valorization scenario and aided in optimizing process performance towards further scale-up.

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“…The biomass was cultivated in open pond raceway reactors using methodology and conditions described in our previous work. 10,17 The wastewater streams blend composition of nutrients included 900 mg/L of total organic carbon (TOC), 122 mg/L of total nitrogen (TN) and 4.38 mg/L of total phosphorous (TP). Among the identified energetic compounds contributing to the organic content of the wastewater were 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (HMX) in the order of 5-15 mg/L.…”

Section: Substrate and Inoculummentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation of biofuel from anaerobic digestion of Scenedesmus obliquus grown in energetic‐laden industrial wastewater: Understanding microalgae strains, co‐digestants, and digestate toxicity

Mai

Terracciano

Abraham

et al. 2022

Env Prog and Sustain Energy

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Microalgae as a substrate for anaerobic digestion (AD) offer promising outcomes over other conventional feedstocks. In this work, the generation of biofuel in the form of biogas via AD using wastewater-grown microalgae was investigated. In particular, batch screening of different microalga strains and co-substrates, culminated into the evaluation of biomethane potential (BMP) from AD of Scenedesmus obliquus grown in energetic-laden wastewater through benchtop-scale semicontinuous reactor. Effectiveness of AD was evaluated for biogas yield, volatile solids (VS) removal, and kinetics for various microalga strains as potential substrate candidates. High carbon content co-digestants were also investigated including return activated sludge and waste office pulped paper. At semi-continuous scale, the specific BMPs associated with of 15, 20, and 30 days hydraulic residence times (HRT) were determined as 67.0, 86.6, and 86.3 ml CH 4 /g VS (added) with average methane content of 70%. In addition, toxicological assessments showed that AD effluent was benign towards renew growth of biomass, thus showing the potential for nutrients recover.

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Assessing Oil Content of Microalgae Grown in Industrial Energetic-Laden Wastewater

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Integrating biological and chemical CO2 sequestration using green microalgae for bioproducts generation

Integrating biological and chemical CO2 sequestration using green microalgae for bioproducts generation

On-Site Pilot-Scale Microalgae Cultivation Using Industrial Wastewater for Bioenergy Production: A Case Study towards Circular Bioeconomy

Generation of biofuel from anaerobic digestion of Scenedesmus obliquus grown in energetic‐laden industrial wastewater: Understanding microalgae strains, co‐digestants, and digestate toxicity

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