Abstract
Microalgae absorb various nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in wastewater, providing bioproduct production and ensuring sustainability in wastewater treatment. The use of waste biomass becomes more effective with immobilized algae biomass usage. This study aims to investigate the removal of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and phosphate (PO43−) in wastewater taken from the outlet of the primary settling unit of the domestic wastewater treatment plant using immobilized Chlorella Vulgaris pure algae culture. A batch reactor setup was used in the laboratory-scale study. The removal rates of NH4+-N and PO43− were evaluated with the effects of different environmental (luminous photoperiod:24-h (h), 16/8 h), chemical (pH: 7.5, 8.0, 8.5 and nitrogen:phosphorus (N:P): 21.4, 18.7, 16.7) and shape factors (bead diameter: 3.4, 5.3 mm) using wastewater samples taken from the presettlement outlet of a typical domestic wastewater treatment plant. pH 8.5 and 24-h luminous photoperiod conditions, the use of 5.3 mm diameter immobilized beads, and the addition of excess phosphate concentration to obtain a nutrient ratio of 16 N:P have increased the NH4+-N and PO43− removal rates and algal biomass growth rate. As a result, in the batch reactor using immobilized Chlorella vulgaris algae biomass, 83% NH4+-N and 95% PO43− removal rates were achieved in domestic wastewater in approximately 20 h.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude to the personnel of the Eskisehir Technical University Faculty of Science, Biology Department, assistant Eda Tuna Öztürk, for assisting laboratory studies and Professor Erdem Ahmet Albek for his suggestions.
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The laboratory setup was carried out by SG. The laboratory measurements were conducted by YÖ. The paper was written by SG.
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Özgür, Y., Göncü, S. The effect of process parameters on use of immobilized algae culture for nitrogen and phosphorus removal from wastewater. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 6015–6026 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04590-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04590-1