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Harvesting Microalgae with Different Sources of Starch-Based Cationic Flocculants

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Abstract

In this study, starches obtained from wheat, potato, and corn were used to synthesize cationic starches (CS), and the flocculation efficiency of these materials was tested with Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Botryococcus braunii cultures under different conditions. Our results indicated that these three CS had differing degrees of substitution following identical synthesis conditions. The various CS functioned similarly in this study, and the desired harmless flocculation efficiency was obtained at low dosages, with CS to microalgal biomass ratios of approximately 89 and 119 mg g−1 for C. pyrenoidosa and B. braunii, respectively. Impressive harmless harvesting efficiencies were obtained at lower dosages with respect to appropriate stirring time before the settling, with ratios ranging from 58 to 78 mg g−1 for C. pyrenoidosa cultures. The cost of microalgae harvesting can be cut dramatically by choosing cheaper starches prior to the synthetic CS and by applying suitable flocculation procedures.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National 863 Program of China (2013AA065804) and the Special Fund for Forest Scientific Research in the Public Welfare (20140420402). We thank Fengge Zhang and Yun Zhang for their help with the cultivation of algae and the collection of data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Chengrong Peng, Shuangshuang Li, Jiaoli Zheng, Shun Huang & Dunhai Li

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Shuangshuang Li & Jiaoli Zheng

Authors
  1. Chengrong Peng
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  2. Shuangshuang Li
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  3. Jiaoli Zheng
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  4. Shun Huang
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  5. Dunhai Li
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Correspondence to Dunhai Li.

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Peng, C., Li, S., Zheng, J. et al. Harvesting Microalgae with Different Sources of Starch-Based Cationic Flocculants. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 181, 112–124 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-016-2202-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-016-2202-9

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