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Growth and removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by free-living and chitosan-immobilized cells of the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus

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Abstract

This study investigated the growth rate of chitosan-immobilized cells of the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus and its potential application in the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus for wastewater treatment. Immobilized cell cultures had a lag phase of growth due to the immobilization method, and their growth rate was similar to that of free-living cell cultures. Ammonia removal was higher in free cells (54%) than in immobilized cells (29%), but nitrate removal was similar in immobilized (38%) and free cells (44%); phosphorus removal was more efficient in free cells (88%) than in immobilized cells (77%). Chlorophyll a and protein content were higher in immobilized cells. Our study demonstrates that S. elongatus immobilized into chitosan capsules can remove nutrients and is able to maintain a growth rate comparable to that of free cells in culture.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT Project 45844) and by Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE Project 7073). B. A.-M. acknowledges a CONACyT PhD scholarship. Alexei F. Licea-Navarro contributed to the molecular identification of S. elongatus. H. Gómez-Villa and C. Chávira-Ortega gave technical assistance. We thank N. Boston and Blue Pencil Science for editing and reviewing the grammar and style of this manuscript.

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  1. Departamento de Acuicultura, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Km 107 Carretera Tijuana a Ensenada, Apartado Postal 360, Ensenada, Baja California, Código Postal 22860, Mexico

    Bily Aguilar-May & María del Pilar Sánchez-Saavedra

  2. P.O. Box 434844, San Diego, CA, 92143, USA

    María del Pilar Sánchez-Saavedra

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  1. Bily Aguilar-May
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  2. María del Pilar Sánchez-Saavedra
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Correspondence to María del Pilar Sánchez-Saavedra.

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Aguilar-May, B., del Pilar Sánchez-Saavedra, M. Growth and removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by free-living and chitosan-immobilized cells of the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus . J Appl Phycol 21, 353–360 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-008-9376-7

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