Abstract
Nutrients and water play an important role in microalgae cultivation. Using wastewater as a culture medium is a promising alternative to recycle nutrients and water, and for further developing microalgae-based products. In the present study, two species of microalgae, Chlorella sp. (high ammonia nitrogen tolerance) and Spirulina platensis (S. platensis, high growth rate), were cultured by using poultry wastewater through a two-stage cultivation system for algal biomass production. Ultrafiltration (UF) or centrifuge was used to harvest Chlorella sp. from the first cultivation stage and to recycle culture medium for S. platensis growth in the second cultivation stage. Results showed the two-stage cultivation system produced high microalgae biomass including 0.39 g·L–1Chlorella sp. and 3.45 g·L–1S. platensis in the first-stage and second-stage, respectively. In addition, the removal efficiencies of NH4+ reached 19% and almost 100% in the first and the second stage, respectively. Total phosphorus (TP) removal reached 17% and 83%, and total organic carbon (TOC) removal reached 55% and 72% in the first and the second stage, respectively. UF and centrifuge can recycle 96.8% and 100% water, respectively. This study provides a new method for the combined of pure microalgae cultivation and wastewater treatment with culture medium recycling.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abelson P H, Hoering T C (1961). Carbon isotope fractionation in formation of amino acids by photosynthetic organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 47(5): 623–632
Bhave R, Kuritz T, Powell L, Adcock D (2012). Membrane-based energy efficient dewatering of microalgae in biofuels production and recovery of value added co-products. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(10): 5599–5606
Bilad M R, Arafat H A, Vankelecom I F J (2014). Membrane technology in microalgae cultivation and harvesting: A review. Biotechnology Advances, 32(7): 1283–1300
Bilad M R, Discart V, Vandamme D, Foubert I, Muylaert K, Vankelecom I F (2014a). Coupled cultivation and pre-harvesting of microalgae in a membrane photobioreactor (MPBR). Bioresource Technology, 155: 410–417
Canizares R O, Dominguez A R (1993). Growth of Spirulina maxima on swine waste. Bioresource Technology, 45(1): 73–75
Chang Y, Wu Z, Bian L, Feng D, Leung Y C D (2013). Cultivation of Spirulina platensis for biomass production and nutrient removal from synthetic human urine. Applied Energy, 102: 427–431
Cheryan M (1998). Ultrafiltration and Microfiltration Handbook. CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL.
Dassey A J, Theegala C S (2013). Harvesting economics and strategies using centrifugation for cost effective separation of microalgae cells for biodiesel applications. Bioresource Technology, 128: 241–245
Farooq W, Lee Y C, Ryu B G, Kim B H, Kim H S, Choi Y E, Yang J W (2013). Two-stage cultivation of two Chlorella sp. strains by simultaneous treatment of brewery wastewater and maximizing lipid productivity. Bioresource Technology, 132: 230–238
Fon Sing S, Isdepsky A, Borowitzka M A, Lewis D M (2014). Pilotscale continuous recycling of growth medium for the mass culture of a halotolerant Tetraselmis sp. in raceway ponds under increasing salinity: A novel protocol for commercial microalgal biomass production. Bioresource Technology, 161: 47–54
Fret J, Roef L, Blust R, Diels L, Tavernier S, Vyverman W, Michiels M (2017). Reuse of rejuvenated media during laboratory and pilot scale cultivation of Nannochloropsis sp. Algal Research, 27: 265–273
GAQSIQ(General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of P.R. China) (2005). Standards for Irrigation Water Quality (in Chinese)
Gerardo M L, Oatley-Radcliffe D L, Lovitt R W (2014). Minimizing the energy requirement of dewatering scenedesmus sp. by microfiltration: Performance, costs, and feasibility. Environmental Science & Technology, 48(1): 845–853
Gudin C, Thepenier C (1986). Bioconversion of solar energy into organic chemicals by microalgae. Advances in biotechnological processes, Alan R. Liss, USA, (6): 73–110
Hadj-Romdhane F, Jaouen P, Pruvost J, Grizeau D, Van Vooren G, Bourseau P (2012). Development and validation of a minimal growth medium for recycling Chlorella vulgaris culture. Bioresource Technology, 123: 366–374
Hadj-Romdhane F, Zheng X, Jaouen P, Pruvost J, Grizeau D, Croué J P, Bourseau P (2013). The culture of Chlorella vulgaris in a recycled supernatant: Effects on biomass production and medium quality. Bioresource Technology, 132: 285–292
Huang C, Chen X, Liu T, Yang Z, Xiao Y, Zeng G, Sun X (2012). Harvesting of Chlorella sp. using hollow fiber ultrafiltration. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 19(5): 1416–1421
Huang Y, Sun Y, Liao Q, Fu Q, Xia A, Zhu X (2016). Improvement on light penetrability and microalgae biomass production by periodically pre-harvesting Chlorella vulgaris cells with culture medium recycling. Bioresource Technology, 216: 669–676
Hung M T, Liu J C (2006). Microfiltration for separation of green algae from water. Colloids and Surfaces. B, Biointerfaces, 51(2): 157–164
Hwang T, Park S J, Oh Y K, Rashid N, Han J I (2013). Harvesting of Chlorella sp. KR-1 using a cross-flow membrane filtration system equipped with an anti-fouling membrane. Bioresource Technology, 139: 379–382
Kim D G, La H J, Ahn C Y, Park Y H, Oh H M (2011). Harvest of Scenedesmus sp. with bioflocculant and reuse of culture medium for subsequent high-density cultures. Bioresource Technology, 102(3): 3163–3168
Konig A, Pearson H W, Silva S A (1987). Ammonia toxicity to algal growth in waste stabilization ponds. Water Science and Technology, 19(12): 115–122
Kovalcik D J (2013). Algal Harvesting for Biodiesel Production: Comparing Centrifugation and Electrocoagulation. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. College Station: Texas A&M University.
Lee Y K (2004). Algal Nutrition‒Heterotrophic Carbon Nutrition. Handbook of Microalgal Culture: Biotechnology and Applied Phycology, 116–124
Loftus S E, Johnson Z I (2017). Cross-study analysis of factors affecting algae cultivation in recycled medium for biofuel production. Algal Research, 24: 154–166
Mackay D, Salusbury T (1988). Choosing between centrifugation and crossflow microfiltration. Chemical Engineering (Albany, N.Y.), 477: 45–50
Milledge J J, Heaven S (2013). A review of the harvesting of micro-algae for biofuel production. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology, 12(2): 165–178
Mo W, Soh L, Werber J R, Elimelech M, Zimmerman J B (2015). Application of membrane dewatering for algal biofuel. Algal Research, 11: 1–12
Monte J, Sá M, Galinha C F, Costa L, Hoekstra H, Brazinha C, Crespo J G (2018). Harvesting of Dunaliella salina by membrane filtration at pilot scale. Separation and Purification Technology, 190: 252–260
Norsker N H, Barbosa M J, Vermuë M H, Wijffels R H (2011). Microalgal production–A close look at the economics. Biotechnology Advances, 29(1): 24–27
Park J B K, Craggs R J, Shilton A N (2013). Investigating why recycling gravity harvested algae increases harvestability and productivity in high rate algal ponds. Water Research, 47(14): 4904–4917
Petrusevski B, Bolier G, Van Breemen A N, Alaerts G J (1995). Tangential flow filtration: a method to concentrate freshwater algae. Water Research, 29(5): 1419–1424
Pires J C M, Alvim-Ferraz M C M, Martins F G, Simões M (2012). Carbon dioxide capture from flue gases using microalgae: engineering aspects and biorefinery concept. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(5): 3043–3053
Richardson J W, Johnson M D, Lacey R, Oyler J, Capareda S (2014). Harvesting and extraction technology contributions to algae biofuels economic viability. Algal Research, 5: 70–78
Rippka R, Deruelles J, Waterbury J B, Herdman M, Stanier R Y (1979). Generic assignments, strain histories and properties of pure cultures of cyanobacteria. Journal of General Microbiology, 111(1): 1–61
Rossignol N, Vandanjon L, Jaouen P, Quemeneur F (1999). Membrane technology for the continuous separation microalgae/culture medium: Compared performances of cross-flow microfiltration and ultrafiltration. Aquacultural Engineering, 20(3): 191–208
SEPA (State Environmental Protection Administration of China) (2002). Methods for Monitoring and Analysis of Water and Wastewater (4th ed). Beijing: China Environmental Science Press (in Chinese)
Sun X, Wang C, Tong Y, Wang W, Wei J (2013). A comparative study of microfiltration and ultrafiltration for algae harvesting. Algal Research, 2(4): 437–444
Udom I, Zaribaf B H, Halfhide T, Gillie B, Dalrymple O, Zhang Q, Ergas S J (2013). Harvesting microalgae grown on wastewater. Bioresource Technology, 139: 101–106
Wang T, Yabar H, Higano Y (2013). Perspective assessment of algae-based biofuel production using recycled nutrient sources: the case of Japan. Bioresource Technology, 128: 688–696
Wang X F, Lu H F, Zhang L, Wang M Z, Zhao Y, Li B M (2015). Combination of Electrolysis and Microalgae cultivation to treat effluent from anaerobic digestion of poultry manure. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare 2015, Chongqing. Beijing: China Agriculture Press, 179–186
Watanabe Y, Hall D O (1995). Photosynthetic CO2 fixation technologies using a helical tubular bioreactor incorporating the filamentous cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis. Energy Conversion and Management, 36(6): 721–724
Xia A, Murphy J D (2016). Microalgal cultivation in treating liquid digestate from biogas systems. Trends in Biotechnology, 34(4): 264–275
Yang J, Xu M, Zhang X, Hu Q, Sommerfeld M, Chen Y (2011). Lifecycle analysis on biodiesel production from microalgae: Water footprint and nutrients balance. Bioresource Technology, 102(1): 159–165
Yuan X, Kumar A, Sahu A K, Ergas S J (2011). Impact of ammonia concentration on Spirulina platensis growth in an airlift photobioreactor. Bioresource Technology, 102(3): 3234–3239
Zhang X, Hu Q, Sommerfeld M, Puruhito E, Chen Y (2010). Harvesting algal biomass for biofuels using ultrafiltration membranes. Bioresource Technology, 101(14): 5297–5304
Zhu L (2015). Microalgal culture strategies for biofuel production: A review. Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, 9(6): 801–814
Zhu L D, Takala J, Hiltunen E, Wang Z M (2013). Recycling harvest water to cultivate Chlorella zofingiensis under nutrient limitation for biodiesel production. Bioresource Technology, 144: 14–20
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Program of Outstanding Talents and Innovative Research Teams in Agriculture (2011-049), China Agricultural Research System (CARS-40) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (51576206). The authors thank the technical and financial support from Minhe Animal Husbandry Incorporated Company. Thanks to Dr. Jiqin Ni (Purdue University) and Dr. Maung Thein Myint (New Mexico State University) for improving the paper. Xinfeng Wang also thanks the China Scholarship Council for financial support of visiting scholar studies in the USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, X., Lin, L., Lu, H. et al. Microalgae cultivation and culture medium recycling by a two-stage cultivation system. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 12, 14 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1078-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1078-z