Removal of pollutants from biogas slurry and CO2 capture in biogas by microalgae-based technology: a systematic review.

Abstract

Recent research interest has focused on microalgae cultivation for biogas slurry purification and biogas upgrading due to the requirement of high efficiency for nutrient uptake and CO2 capture, with economic feasibility and environmental benefits. Numerous studies have suggested that biogas slurry purification and biogas upgrading can occur simultaneously via microalgae-based technology. However, there is no comprehensive review on this technology with respect to the nutrient removal from biogas slurry and biogas upgrading. This article summarizes microalgal cultivation with biogas slurry and biogas from anaerobic digestion. The parameters, techniques, and modes of microalgae cultivation have been discussed in detail to achieve high efficiency in biogas slurry purification and biogas upgrading. In addition, the evaluation of energy efficiency and safety has also been explored. Compared with mono-cultivation of microalgae and co-cultivation of microalgae and bacteria, microalgae-fungi symbiosis has demonstrated greater development prospect and higher energy efficiency and the energy consumption for pollutants and CO2 removal were 14.2-39.0% · USD-1 and 19.9-23.3% · USD-1, respectively. Further, a sustainable recycling scheme is proposed for the purification of biogas slurry from anaerobic digestion process and biogas upgrading via microalgae-based technology.