Sustainable production of microalgae in raceways: Nutrients and water management as key factors influencing environmental impacts

Herrera, Axel; D’Imporzano, Giuliana; Fernández, Francisco Gabriel Acién; Adani, Fabrizio

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125005

Cited by 71 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…The produced biomass would consist of microalgae and bacteria. As mentioned before, the composition of the consortia depends on environmental and operational conditions but, if managed properly, over 95% of the produced biomass will be microalgae (Herrera et al, 2020). Because of the higher light availability of thin-layer cascade reactors it is likely that photoautotrophic growth would be favoured therefore facilitating the proliferation of photosynthetic microorganisms, although this would need to be validated in future studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual production of microalgae in wastewater using pilot-scale thin-layer cascade photobioreactors

et al. 2021

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Microalgae based wastewater treatment has been suggested as an alternative to polluting and energy-consuming conventional processes. The main advantage of this strategy is the dual role of microalgae: they recover nutrients from waste and simultaneously produce biomass with varied industrial applications. In the current study, biomass of Scenedesmus sp. was produced using primary wastewater in two pilot-scale thin-layer cascade photobioreactors (63 and 126 m 2 ). The wastewater used for microalgal growth was not subjected to any conventional treatment process, besides removal of solids, and contained a variable N-NH4 + content of 83.0-210.6 mg•L -1 . Biomass productivity values were comparable to those obtained when operating using freshwater and commercial chemicals as nutrient sources. When operating at a dilution rate of 0.3 day -1 , the average annual productivity was 24.8 g•m -2 •day -1 (82.0 t•ha -2 •year 1 ) with a maximum of 32.8 g•m -2 •day -1 in summer. Inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus removal rates varied between 695.4-2383.4 and 70.4-111.8 mg•m -2 •day -1 respectively. Production of Scenedesmus sp. using wastewater would allow not only to process large volumes of water that could be reused for agricultural irrigation or safely disposed into water streams, but also reduce production costs by 0.44 €•kg -1 , based on a preliminary economic analysis. Overall, results demonstrate that thin-layer cascade reactors can be used to effectively remove nutrients from wastewater while simultaneously produce valuable biomass with potential applications in agriculture or animal feed production.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual production of microalgae in wastewater using pilot-scale thin-layer cascade photobioreactors

et al. 2021

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“…It is not possible to produce 100% microalgal biomass as bacteria and other microorganisms are always present in the medium, especially when using waste streams. The composition of the consortia depends on environmental and operational conditions [12,25] but, if managed properly, over 95% of the biomass produced will be microalgae [26]. The results, shown in Figure 1A, suggest that the pig slurry negatively affected biomass productivity when compared to the SM (p<0.05).…”

Section: Optimum Dilution: Effect Of N-nh4 + On Biomass Productivitymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…As mentioned before, the composition of the microalgae-bacteria consortia depends on environmental and operational conditions. However, phototropism is promoted in the presence of light and inorganic nutrients, with the potential for over 95% of the produced biomass being microalgae [26]. To precisely determine this, in vitro assessment would be required.…”

Section: Composition Of the Microalgal Biomassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimisation of Scenedesmus almeriensis production using pig slurry as the sole nutrient source

et al. 2022

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“…A considerable variation exists in data in literature and opinions among experts about the selecting the suitable production system for algal bioenergy. However, a general consensus of several life cycle assessment (LCA) studies indicates raceway ponds are better than photobioreactor in terms of net energy ratio and global warming potential (Ketzer et al, 2018;Herrera et al, 2021). The use of expensive photobioreactor system can be justified for making high-value products.…”

Section: Choice Of the Microalgae Production Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Algal Biofuels With Bioremediation Coupled Industrial Commodities Towards Cost-Effectiveness

et al. 2021

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Microalgae offer a great potential to contribute significantly as renewable fuels and documented as a promising platform for algae-based bio refineries. They provide solutions to mitigate the environmental concerns posed by conventional fuel sources; however, the production of microalgal biofuels in large scale production system encounters few technical challenges. High quantity of nutrients requirements and water cost constrain the scaling up microalgal biomass to large scale commercial production. Crop protection against biomass losses due to grazers or pathogens is another stumbling block in microalgal field cultivation. With our existing technologies, unless coupled with high-value or mid-value products, algal biofuel cannot reach the economic target. Many microalgal industries that started targeting biofuel in the last decade had now adopted parallel business plans focusing on algae by-products application as cosmetic supplements, nutraceuticals, oils, natural color, and animal feed. This review provides the current status and proposes a framework for key supply demand, challenges for cost-effective and sustainable use of water and nutrient. Emphasis is placed on the future industrial market status of value added by products of microalgal biomass. The cost factor for biorefinery process development needs to be addressed before its potential to be exploited for various value-added products with algal biofuel.

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Sustainable production of microalgae in raceways: Nutrients and water management as key factors influencing environmental impacts

Cited by 71 publications

References 67 publications

Annual production of microalgae in wastewater using pilot-scale thin-layer cascade photobioreactors

Annual production of microalgae in wastewater using pilot-scale thin-layer cascade photobioreactors

Optimisation of Scenedesmus almeriensis production using pig slurry as the sole nutrient source

Integration of Algal Biofuels With Bioremediation Coupled Industrial Commodities Towards Cost-Effectiveness

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