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Bioprospecting of microalgae for integrated biomass production and phytoremediation of unsterilized wastewater and anaerobic digestion centrate

  • Bioenergy and biofuels
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Abstract

Eighteen microalgae, including two local isolates, were evaluated for their ability to grow and remove nutrients from unsterilized primary or secondary wastewater effluents as well as wastewater supplemented with nutrient-rich anaerobic digester centrate (ADC). Most of the tested species except several phylogenetically clustered Chlorella sorokiniana including local isolates and Scenedesmus strains were unable to grow efficiently. This may reflect the presence of certain genetic traits important for robust growth in the unsterilized wastewater. The maximum algal-specific growth rates and biomass density obtained in these bacterial-contaminated cultures were in the range of 0.8–1 day−1 and 250–350 mg L−1, respectively. ADC supplementation was especially helpful to biologically treated secondary effluent with its lower initial macronutrient and micronutrient content. As a result of algal growth, total nitrogen and orthophosphate levels were reduced by as much as 90 and 70 %, respectively. Biological assimilation was estimated to be the main mechanism of nitrogen removal in primary and secondary effluents with ammonia volatilization and bacterial nitrification-denitrification contributing for cultures supplemented with ADC. Assimilation by algae served as the principal mechanism of orthophosphate remediation in secondary wastewater cultures, while chemical precipitation appeared also to be important for orthophosphate removal in primary wastewater. Overall, cultivation of microalgae in primary and primary + 5 % ADC may be more favorable from an economical and sustainability perspective due to elimination of the costly and energy-intensive biological treatment step. These findings demonstrate that unsterilized wastewater and ADC can serve as critical nutrient sources for biomass generation and that robust microalgae can be potent players in wastewater phytoremediation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from US EPA P3 Award Program (Grant No. SU835318) and from US NSF CBET Program (Grant No. 1236691) and the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of US Department of State through an International Fulbright Science and Technology Award to Pavlo Bohutskyi. Partial support was also provided by a fellowship to Julian Rosenberg from the Johns Hopkins Environment, Energy, Sustainability & Health Institute (E2SHI). The authors would also like to thank Nick Frankos and Marshall Phillips, the management of the Baltimore Wastewater Treatment Plant, for their assistance in collection of wastewater and anaerobic digestion effluent samples used in this study. Finally, we would like to thank Minxi Wan for providing the Chlorella sorokiniana (CCTCC M209220).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218-2686, USA

    Pavlo Bohutskyi, Kexin Liu, Laila Khaled Nasr, Natalie Byers & Edward J. Bouwer

  2. Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218-2686, USA

    Pavlo Bohutskyi, Julian N. Rosenberg, George A. Oyler & Michael J. Betenbaugh

  3. Clean Green Chesapeake, 1448 South Rolling Road, Baltimore, MD, 21227-3898, USA

    Julian N. Rosenberg & George A. Oyler

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  1. Pavlo Bohutskyi
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  2. Kexin Liu
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Correspondence to Pavlo Bohutskyi.

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Bohutskyi, P., Liu, K., Nasr, L.K. et al. Bioprospecting of microalgae for integrated biomass production and phytoremediation of unsterilized wastewater and anaerobic digestion centrate. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 6139–6154 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6603-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6603-4

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