Closing Domestic Nutrient Cycles Using Microalgae

Fernandes, Tânia V.; Shrestha, Rabin; Sui, Yixing; Papini, Gustavo; Zeeman, G.; Vet, Louise E. M.; Wijffels, René H.; Lamers, Packo P.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b02858

Cited by 68 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Chemical processes are highly efficient, but the requirement of a lot of flocculant dosages renders the harvested biomass contaminated with undesirable chemicals [7, 8]. Biologically induced harvesting of algal cells is now being explored as a replacement for the conventional algal dewatering processes which contribute towards 3–15% of the algal biomass production cost [9, 10]. The harvested biomass can be processed for biofuel generation without any loss of quality [11, 12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential role of N-acetyl glucosamine in Aspergillus fumigatus-assisted Chlorella pyrenoidosa harvesting

Bhattacharya

Mathur

Kumar

et al. 2019

Biotechnol Biofuels

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Background Algal harvesting is a major cost which increases biofuel production cost. Algal biofuels are widely studied as third-generation biofuel. However, they are yet not viable because of its high production cost which is majorly contributed by energy-intensive biomass harvesting techniques. Biological harvesting method like fungal-assisted harvesting of microalgae is highly efficient but poses a challenge due to its slow kinetics and poorly understood mechanism. Results In this study, we investigate Aspergillus fumigatus – Chlorella pyrenoidosa attachment resulting in a harvesting efficiency of 90% within 4 h. To pinpoint the role of extracellular metabolite, several experiments were performed by eliminating the C. pyrenoidosa or A. fumigatus spent medium from the C. pyrenoidosa – A. fumigatus mixture. In the absence of A. fumigatus spent medium, the harvesting efficiency dropped to 20% compared to > 90% in the control, which was regained after addition of A. fumigatus spent medium. Different treatments of A. fumigatus spent medium showed drop in harvesting efficiency after periodate treatment (≤ 20%) and methanol–chloroform extraction (≤ 20%), indicating the role of sugar-like moiety. HR-LC–MS (high-resolution liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry) results confirmed the presence of N -acetyl- d -glucosamine (GlcNAc) and glucose in the spent medium. When GlcNAc was used as a replacement of A. fumigatus spent medium for harvesting studies, the harvesting process was significantly faster ( p < 0.05) till 4 h compared to that with glucose. Further experiments indicated that metabolically active A. fumigatus produced GlcNAc from glucose. Concanavalin A staining and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) analysis of A. fumigatus spent medium- as well as GlcNAc-incubated C. pyrenoidosa cells suggested the presence of GlcNAc on its cell surface indicated by dark red dots and GlcNAc-specific peaks, while no such characteristic dots or peaks were observed in normal C. pyrenoidosa cells. HR-TEM (High-resolution Transmission electron microscopy) showed the formation of serrated edges on the C. pyrenoidosa cell surface after treatment with A. fumigatus spent medium or GlcNAc, while Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed an increase in roughness of the C. pyrenoidosa cells surface upon incubation with A. fumigatus spent medium. Conclusions Results strongly suggest that GlcNAc prese...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential role of N-acetyl glucosamine in Aspergillus fumigatus-assisted Chlorella pyrenoidosa harvesting

Bhattacharya

Mathur

Kumar

et al. 2019

Biotechnol Biofuels

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“…Wastewater with animal manure and human excreta can reach N:P ratios up to 40 ( Kumar et al, 2010 ; Tuantet et al, 2013 ). In concentrated toilet wastewater (i.e., black water), the N:P ratio usually varies from 20 to 30 ( Vasconcelos Fernandes et al, 2015 ). Earlier work has demonstrated how the microalga Chlorella sorokiniana can fully remove N and P from black water with 76 mmol NH 4 + L -1 and 3.4 mmol , yielding an N:P ratio of 22.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier work has demonstrated how the microalga Chlorella sorokiniana can fully remove N and P from black water with 76 mmol NH 4 + L -1 and 3.4 mmol , yielding an N:P ratio of 22. All P was removed from the black water in 4 days, but another 8 days were needed for all N to be removed ( Vasconcelos Fernandes et al, 2015 ). This may be due to the high N:P ratio of the black water, as well as due to a low N relative to P removal and recovery by the microalgae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward an Ecologically Optimized N:P Recovery from Wastewater by Microalgae

et al. 2017

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Global stores of important resources such as phosphorus (P) are being rapidly depleted, while the excessive use of nutrients has led to the enrichment of surface waters worldwide. Ideally, nutrients would be recovered from wastewater, which will not only prevent eutrophication but also provide access to alternative nutrient stores. Current state-of-the-art wastewater treatment technologies are effective in removing these nutrients from wastewater, yet they can only recover P and often in an insufficient way. Microalgae, however, can effectively assimilate P and nitrogen (N), as well as other macro- and micronutrients, allowing these nutrients to be recovered into valuable products that can be used to close nutrient cycles (e.g., fertilizer, bioplastics, color dyes, and bulk chemicals). Here, we show that the green alga Chlorella sorokiniana is able to remove all inorganic N and P present in concentrated toilet wastewater (i.e., black water) with N:P ratios ranging between 15 and 26. However, the N and P uptake by the algae is imbalanced relative to the wastewater N:P stoichiometry, resulting in a rapid removal of P but relatively slower removal of N. Here, we discuss how ecological principles such as ecological stoichiometry and resource-ratio theory may help optimize N:P removal and allow for more effective recovery of N and P from black water.

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“…As the world’s population continues to grow, more and more wastewater is produced1, and accordingly, developing more effective wastewater treatment technologies has become one of the major challenges of modern society2. Conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) technology such as upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) has been demonstrated effective in treating some industrial wastewater (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Nanoscale zero-valent iron/persulfate enhanced upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor for dye removal: Insight into microbial metabolism and microbial community

Pan

Zhong

Xia

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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This study investigated the efficiency of nanoscale zero-valent iron combined with persulfate (NZVI/PS) for enhanced degradation of brilliant red X-3B in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, and examined the effects of NZVI/PS on anaerobic microbial communities during the treatment process. The addition of NZVI (0.5 g/L) greatly enhanced the decolourization rate of X-3B from 63.8% to 98.4%. The Biolog EcoPlateTM technique was utilized to examine microbial metabolism in the reactor, and the Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing revealed 22 phyla and 88 genera of the bacteria. The largest genera (Lactococcus) decreased from 33.03% to 7.94%, while the Akkermansia genera increased from 1.69% to 20.23% according to the abundance in the presence of 0.2 g/L NZVI during the biological treatment process. Meanwhile, three strains were isolated from the sludge in the UASB reactors and identified by 16 S rRNA analysis. The distribution of three strains was consistent with the results from the Illumina MiSeq high throughput sequencing. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicated that Fe(0) was transformed into Fe(II)/Fe(III) during the treatment process, which are beneficial for the microorganism growth, and thus promoting their metabolic processes and microbial community.

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Closing Domestic Nutrient Cycles Using Microalgae

Cited by 68 publications

References 41 publications

Potential role of N-acetyl glucosamine in Aspergillus fumigatus-assisted Chlorella pyrenoidosa harvesting

Potential role of N-acetyl glucosamine in Aspergillus fumigatus-assisted Chlorella pyrenoidosa harvesting

Toward an Ecologically Optimized N:P Recovery from Wastewater by Microalgae

Nanoscale zero-valent iron/persulfate enhanced upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor for dye removal: Insight into microbial metabolism and microbial community

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