How effective is microalgae treatment of nursery wastewater for nutrient removal?

Pufelski, N. and Aravinthan, V. and Yusaf, T. (2010) How effective is microalgae treatment of nursery wastewater for nutrient removal? In: 2010 Southern Region Engineering Conference (SREC 2010), 11-12 Nov 2010, Toowoomba, Australia.

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Abstract

Nutrient removal from wastewaters has been traditionally achieved by activated sludge. But, in recent years,
microalgae have been exploited for nutrient removal from
wastewaters with the aim of producing fatty acid for use as biofuel. There are studies available on algae production using piggery, dairy and municipal wastewater, however, the rates of nutrient removal and algal growth have not been fully investigated. Furthermore, the growth rates of algae in different wastewaters for potential lipid production have not been fully established. Hence, in this paper, it was aimed to investigate the nutrient removal and algal growth using wastewater collected from a leafy vegetable nursery. Experiments were conducted using a batch reactor, having a capacity of 3.5 L. The reactor was filled with the nursery wastewater and inoculated by Chlorella vulgaris microalgae. Both compressed air and CO2 were supplied to provide the inorganic carbon necessary for the algal growth. The required illumination for growth was
provided by florescence light. Algal growth was monitored by
measuring the volatile solid concentration and cell density using spectrophotometer. Algae were harvested soon after the peak growth for future fatty acid measurement. In this paper, the experimental results on nutrient removal, algae growth in nursery wastewater along with online measurements including pH and dissolved oxygen dynamics during the culturing period are discussed.

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Commonwealth Reporting Category E) (Paper)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Faculty / Department / School:	Historic - Faculty of Engineering and Surveying - Department of Agricultural, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Date Deposited:	02 Feb 2011 05:27
Last Modified:	10 Apr 2017 03:03
Uncontrolled Keywords:	microalgae; nutrient removal; fatty acid; bio-fuel
Fields of Research :	09 Engineering > 0904 Chemical Engineering > 090405 Non-automotive Combustion and Fuel Engineering (incl. Alternative/Renewable Fuels) 09 Engineering > 0904 Chemical Engineering > 090409 Wastewater Treatment Processes 09 Engineering > 0902 Automotive Engineering > 090201 Automotive Combustion and Fuel Engineering (incl. Alternative/Renewable Fuels)
Socio-Economic Objective:	B Economic Development > 85 Energy > 8503 Preparation and Production of Energy Sources > 850309 Production of Biofuels (Biomass)
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/18190

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