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ICREGA’14 - Renewable Energy: Generation and Applications pp 37–48Cite as

Feasibility of Algal Systems for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

Part of the Springer Proceedings in Energy book series (SPE)

Abstract

This paper proposes algal systems as a sustainable approach for removing nutrients from urban wastewaters and generating energy. This proposal is based on theoretical comparisons of energy that can be harvested from urban wastewaters by traditional technologies versus algal systems. Preliminary experimental results are presented to demonstrate that a thermo-tolerant and acidophilic strain evaluated in this study—Galdieria sulphuraria, can grow well in primary settled urban wastewaters and can reduce nutrient levels to regulatory discharge levels.

Keywords

  • Algal Biomass
  • Biochemical Oxygen Demand
  • Microbial Fuel Cell
  • Nutrient Removal
  • Urban Wastewater

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by the NSF Engineering Research Center, ReNUWIT; the US Department of Energy under contract DE-EE0003046 awarded to the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts; the National Science Foundation award #IIA-1301346; and the Ed & Harold Foreman Endowed Chair.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA

    Thinesh Selvaratnam, Ambica Pegallapati, Felly Montelya, Gabriela Rodriguez, Nirmala Khandan, Peter Lammers & Wayne Van Voorhies

Authors
  1. Thinesh Selvaratnam
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  2. Ambica Pegallapati
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  3. Felly Montelya
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  4. Gabriela Rodriguez
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  5. Nirmala Khandan
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  6. Peter Lammers
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  7. Wayne Van Voorhies
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nirmala Khandan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering Dept. Mechanical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Mohammad O. Hamdan

  2. Faculty of Engineering Dept. of Electrical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Hassan A.N. Hejase

  3. Faculty of Engineering Dept. of Electrical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Hassan M. Noura

  4. Faculty of Engineering Dept. of Electrical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Utd.Arab.Emir.

    Abbas A. Fardoun

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Selvaratnam, T. et al. (2014). Feasibility of Algal Systems for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment. In: Hamdan, M., Hejase, H., Noura, H., Fardoun, A. (eds) ICREGA’14 - Renewable Energy: Generation and Applications. Springer Proceedings in Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05708-8_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05708-8_4

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