Abstract
Laboratory experiments were performed to study the growth rate and phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) uptakes of eight benthic microalgae species isolated from different sources of pig manure. Cells immobilized in calcium alginate beads were cultured with three replicates for each species. P removal rates obtained for the unicellular self-aggregating benthic species (Palmellopsis gelatinosa, Chlorosarcinopsis sp., and Macrochloris sp.) were markedly higher than those obtained in previous published experiments. N removal rates were highest for Macrochloris sp., Chlorosarcinopsis sp., and Euglena sp. 2 and comparable to the maximum rates obtained by other authors. Our results show an excellent efficiency of autochthonous benthic species for nutrient removal, especially for P, and call attention to their use for wastewater treatment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdel Hameed MS (2007) Effect of algal density in bead, bead size and bead concentration on wastewater nutrient removal. Afr J Biotechnol 6:1185–1191
APHA (1992) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 18th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington
Cañizares RO, Rivas L, Montes C, Domínguez AR, Travieso L, Benítez F (1994) Aerated swine-wastewater treatment with K-carrageenan-immobilized Spirulina maxima. Bioresour Technol 47:89–91. doi:10.1016/0960-8524(94)90035-3
Chevalier P, de la Noüe J (1985) Efficiency of immobilized hyperconcentrated algae for ammonium and orthophosphate removal from wastewaters. Biotechnol Lett 6:395–400. doi:10.1007/BF01166210
Chevalier P, Proulx D, Lessard P, Vincent WF, de la Noüe J (2000) Nitrogen and phosphorus removal by high latitude mat-forming cyanobacteria for potential use in tertiary wastewater treatment. J Appl Phycol 12:105–112. doi:10.1023/A:1008168128654
De la Noüe J, Proulx D (1988) Biological tertiary treatment of urban wastewaters with chitosan-immobilized Phormidium. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 29:292–297
De la Noüe J, Chevalier P, Proulx D (1990) Effluent treatment with immobilized microalgae and cyanobacteria: a critical assessment. In: Tyagi RD, Vembu K (eds) Wastewater treatment by immobilized cells. CRC, Boca Raton, pp 144–149
Garbisu C, Hall DO, Serra JL (1992) Nitrate and nitrite uptake by free-living and immobilized N-started cells of Phormidium laminosum. J Appl Phycol 4:139–148. doi:10.1007/BF02442462
Goldman JC (1979) Outdoor algal mass cultures—I. Applications. Water Res 13:1–19. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(79)90249-5
González LE, Bashan Y (2000) Increased growth of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris when coimmobilized and cocultured in alginate beads with the plant-growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:1527–1531. doi:10.1128/AEM.66.4.1527-1531.2000
Grobelaar JU (2000) Physiological and technological considerations for optimizing mass algal cultures. J Appl Phycol 12:201–206. doi:10.1023/A:1008155125844
Hernandez JP, de-Bashan LE, Bashan Y (2006) Starvation enhances phosphorus removal from wastewater by the microalga Chlorella spp. co-immobilized with Azospirillum brasilense. Enzyme Microb Technol 38:190–198. doi:10.1016/j.enzmictec.2005.06.005
Jeanfils J, Canisius MF, Burlion N (1993) Effect of high nitrate concentrations on growth and nitrate uptake by free-living and immobilized Chlorella vulgaris cells. J Appl Phycol 5:369–374. doi:10.1007/BF02186240
Jiménez-Pérez V, Sánchez-Castillo P, Romera O, Moreno-Fernández D, Pérez-Martínez C (2004) Growth and nutrient removal in free and immobilized planktonic green algae isolated from pig manure. Enzyme Microb Technol 34:392–398. doi:10.1016/j.enzmictec.2003.07.010
Lau PS, Tam NFY, Wong YS (1998) Effect of carrageenan immobilization on the physiological activities of Chlorella vulgaris. Bioresour Technol 63:115–121. doi:10.1016/S0960-8524(97)00111-9
Olguín EJ, Galicia S, Mercado G, Pérez T (2003) Annual productivity of Spirulina (Arthrospira) and nutrient removal in a pig wastewater recycling process, under tropical conditions. J Appl Phycol 15:249–257. doi:10.1023/A:1023856702544
Proulx D, de la Noüe J (1988) Removal of macronutrients from wastewater by immobilized microalgae. In: Moo-Young M (ed) Bioreactor immobilized enzymes and cells: fundamentals and applications. Elsevier, New York, pp 301–310
Reynolds CS (2006) Ecology of phytoplankton. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Romo S, Pérez-Martínez C (1997) The use of immobilization in alginate beads for long-term storage of Pseudoanabaena galeata (Cyanobacteria) in the laboratory. J Phycol 33:1073–1076. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3646.1997.01073.x
Safonova E, Kvitko KV, Iankevitch MI, Surgko LF, Afti IA, Reisser W (2004) Biotreatment of industrial wastewater by selected algal–bacterial consortia. Eng Life Sci 4:347–353. doi:10.1002/elsc.200420039
Sawayama S, Minowa T, Dote Y, Yokoyama S (1992) Growth of the hydrocarbon-rich microalgae Botryococcus braunii in secondarily treated sewage. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 38:135–138. doi:10.1007/BF00169433
Shi J, Podola B, Melkonian M (2007) Removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater using microalgae immobilized on twin layers: and experimental study. J Appl Phycol 19:417–423. doi:10.1007/s10811-006-9148-1
Soeder CJ (1980) Massive cultivation of microalgae: results and prospect. Hydrobiologia 72:197–209. doi:10.1007/BF00016247
Tam NFY, Wong YS (1994) Feasibility of using Chlorella pyrenoidosa in the removal of inorganic nutrients from primary settled sewage. In: Phang SM et al (eds) Algal biotechnology in the Asia-Pacific region. University of Malaya, Malaya, pp 291–299
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Richard Davies for assistance with the English version and to PROINSERGA S.A. for financial support and facilities to carry out this project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pérez-Martínez, C., Sánchez-Castillo, P. & Jiménez-Pérez, M.V. Utilization of immobilized benthic algal species for N and P removal. J Appl Phycol 22, 277–282 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-009-9456-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-009-9456-3