Abstract
Microalgae have been extensively tested for their ability to create bio-based fuels. Microalgae have also been explored as an alternative wastewater treatment solution due to their significant uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as their ability to grow in different water types. Recently, there has been significant interest in combining these two characteristics to create economic and environmentally friendly biofuel using wastewater. This study examined the growth and lipid production of the microalgae Porphyridium (P.) cruentum grown in swine wastewater (ultra-filtered and raw) as compared with control media (L−1, modified f/2) at two different salt concentrations (seawater and saltwater). The cultivation of P. cruentum in the treated swine wastewater media (seawater = 5.18 ± 2.3 mgL−1day−1, saltwater = 3.32 ± 1.93 mgL−1day−1) resulted in a statistically similar biomass productivity compared to the control medium (seawater = 2.61 ± 2.47 mgL−1day−1, saltwater = 6.53 ± 0.81 mgL−1day−1) at the corresponding salt concentration. Furthermore, no major differences between the fatty acid compositions of microalgae in the treated swine wastewater medium and the control medium were observed. For all conditions, saturated acids were present in the highest amounts (≥67%), followed by polyunsaturated (≤22%) and finally monounsaturated (≤12%). This is the first study to find that P. cruentum could be used to remediate wastewater and then be turned into fuel by using swine wastewater with a similar productivity to the microalgae grown in control media.
Highlights
Microalgae have a significant potential to be used for the development of alternative bio-based fuels [1]
For the samples grown in seawater, those containing treated swine wastewater (SW-UF-SEA) had almost double the average biomass productivity (5.18 mgL−1 day−1 ) than those grown in the control medium (C-SEA, 2.61 mgL−1 day−1 )
The growth and productivity of Porphyridium cruentum were examined in swine wastewater versus control media with different salinities
Summary
Microalgae have a significant potential to be used for the development of alternative bio-based fuels [1]. Microalgae have been reported to have a high productivity of lipids (for biodiesel) or carbohydrates (for bioethanol or biobutanol), depending on the type of microalgae and growth conditions. Additional advantages of microalgae include high lipid yield per unit area [2], short cultivation periods, better resistance to diverse environments like seawater or eutrophic waters [3], and the production of valuable co-products, such as proteins and residual biomass [4]. Microalgae strains can thrive in saltwater, seawater, and wastewater [5,6,7]. Work by Solovchenko et al (2015) showed that animal manure provides a very rich source of phosphorous required for microalgae growth [8]. The purpose of this paper is to show that swine
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