Abstract
Microalga is a promising feedstock for biofuel, chemical, food, and animal feed; however, harvesting is a critical barrier for its commercial application. This communication demonstrates a new harvesting technology by utilizing the phase separation of thermoresponsive polymers and charged copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide and allylamine. Chlorella protothecoides cells are separated from solution when the mixture of algae and polymers is heated above the lower critical solution temperature of polymers (~32°C), where the polymer phase separates from the aqueous media and aggregates into a solid–gel phase. It was found that copolymer concentration, allylamine content (mol%) and charge (based on initial solution pH) affect the extent of polymer phase separation and alga separation efficiency. The copolymer containing allylamine with lower than 2.6mol% displayed nearly complete algal cell separation at polymer concentrations of 25–50mg/mL and pH7. The results indicated that thermoresponsive polymers provide a promising technology for alga harvesting using recyclable and reusable materials.
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