Abstract
Cells of the non-N2-fixing cyanobacterium Phormidium uncinatum were immobilized by adsorption into polyvinyl (PV-50) foam pieces. The effect of inoculum size as well as the initial inoculum/support ratio on the cell immobilization process was investigated. After 2 months of immobilization similar net O2-exchange activity was measured in immobilized and free-living cells. Polyvinyl-adsorbed cells also showed similar nitrate uptake capacity to free-living cells. Nitrogen starvation promoted a remarkable increase in nitrate uptake rate of both free-living and immobilized cells. A lab-scale photobioreactor packed with polyvinyl foam pieces colonized in situ by cells was used for nitrate removal in a continuous mode. In the best working conditions found, nearly 90% of nitrate supplied in the influent (50 mg l−1) was removed by cells having a residence time of 3–4 h.
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Correspondence to: J. L. Serra
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Gil, J.M., Serra, J.L. Nitrate removal by immobilized cells of Phormidium uncinatum in batch culture and a continuous-flow photobioreactor. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 39, 782–787 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164467
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164467