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Effects of pH, Salinity, Biomass Concentration, and Algal Organic Matter on Flocculant Efficiency of Synthetic Versus Natural Polymers for Harvesting Microalgae Biomass

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Abstract

This study investigated the effects of pH, salinity, biomass concentration, and algal organic matter (AOM) on the efficiency of four commercial cationic flocculants. The tannin-based biopolymers Tanfloc SG and SL and the polyacrylamide polymers Flopam FO 4800 SH and FO 4990 SH were tested for flocculation of two microalgae models, the freshwater Chlorella vulgaris and the marine Nannochloropsis oculata. Both biomass concentration and AOM presence affected all polymers evaluated, whereas salinity and pH affected only Flopam and Tanfloc, respectively. A restabilization effect due to overdosing was only observed for Flopam polymers and increasing Tanfloc dose resulted in improved efficiency. Flopam polymers showed a significant decrease in the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II as function of polymer dose for Chlorella, which supported the need for toxicological studies to assess the potential toxicity of Flopam. In overall, Tanfloc was not affected by salinity nor presented potential toxicity therefore being recommended for the flocculation of both freshwater and marine species.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank TANAC and SNF Floerger for kindly providing polymers. F. Roselet was funded by a Sandwich Ph.D. grant (process no. 11839-13-9) from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). P.C. Abreu is a research fellow at Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). D. Vandamme is a postdoctoral researcher funded by the Research Foundation Flanders Belgium (FWO; 12D8914N). The manuscript was edited by Highlight Science Writing (highlight-science-writing.com).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microalgae Production, Institute of Oceanography, Federal University of Rio Grande-FURG, Av. Itália, Km 08, Rio Grande, RS, 96201-900, Brazil

    Fabio Roselet, Milene Roselet & Paulo Cesar Abreu

  2. Laboratory for Aquatic Biology, KU Leuven Kulak, Etienne Sabbelaan 53, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium

    Dries Vandamme & Koenraad Muylaert

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  1. Fabio Roselet
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  2. Dries Vandamme
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Correspondence to Fabio Roselet.

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Fabio Roselet and Dries Vandamme contributed equally to this work

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Roselet, F., Vandamme, D., Roselet, M. et al. Effects of pH, Salinity, Biomass Concentration, and Algal Organic Matter on Flocculant Efficiency of Synthetic Versus Natural Polymers for Harvesting Microalgae Biomass. Bioenerg. Res. 10, 427–437 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-016-9806-3

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