The use of Chlorella vulgaris beijer in bioremediation activities

Abstract

The article focuses on the possibility of applying the green alga Chlorella vulgaris Beijer. culture to bioremediation activities. Two types of wastewater were simulated, agricultural (ACW) and domestic (DW). The experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks. The ratio of the amount of the algal culture and the wastewater volume was 1:10. The content of NO3-, NO2-and NH4+ in the composition of the wastewater was tested before and after cultivating the alga; during cultivation, the pH of the culture medium and the optical density of the Ch. vulgaris culture were monitored. The indicators of the amount of various forms of nitrogen and the pH level show that simulated domestic and agricultural wastewater can serve as an alternative nutrient medium for growing green algae. The use of Ch. vulgaris for the treatment of domestic and agricultural effluents allows avoiding almost completely their nitrate and ammonia pollution. The amount of biomass obtained within 25 days of cultivating Ch. vulgaris on agricultural sewage was two times higher than in the control Tamiya medium. Resulting Ch. vulgaris algal mass with the proteins content of 55% and lipids reaching 30% can match various needs being used a source of protein or lipids.