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Novel Fungal Pelletization-Assisted Technology for Algae Harvesting and Wastewater Treatment

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Abstract

A novel fungi pelletization-assisted bioflocculation technology was developed for efficient algae harvesting and wastewater treatment. Microalga Chlorella vulgaris UMN235 and two locally isolated fungal species Aspergillus sp. UMN F01 and UMN F02 were used to study the effect of various cultural conditions on pelletization process for fungi–algae complex. The results showed that pH was the key factor affecting formation of fungi–algae pellet, and pH could be controlled by adjusting glucose concentration and fungal spore number added. The best pelletization happened when adding 20 g/L glucose and approximately 1.2E8/L spores in BG-11 medium, under which almost 100 % of algal cells were captured onto the pellets with shorter retention time. The fungi–algae pellets can be easily harvested by simple filtration due to its large size (2–5 mm). The filtered fungi–algae pellets were reused as immobilized cells for treatment wastewaters and the nutrient removal rates of 100, 58.85, 89.83, and 62.53 % (for centrate) and 23.23, 44.68, 84.70, and 70.34 % (for diluted swine manure wastewater) for ammonium, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand, respectively, under both 1- and 2-day cultivations. The novel technology developed is highly promising compared with current algae harvesting and biological wastewater treatment technologies in the literature.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported in part by grants from the University of Minnesota Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment and Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, as well as the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resource, and the MOE Biomass Engineering Center in China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Biorefining and Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Wenguang Zhou, Yanling Cheng, Yun Li, Yuhuan Liu & Roger Ruan

  2. Beijing Union University, Beijing, China

    Yanling Cheng

  3. MOE Biomass Energy Center and State Key Laboratory of Food Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330047, China

    Yun Li, Yiqin Wan & Roger Ruan

  4. Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350108, China

    Xiangyang Lin

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  1. Wenguang Zhou
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Correspondence to Roger Ruan.

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Zhou, W., Cheng, Y., Li, Y. et al. Novel Fungal Pelletization-Assisted Technology for Algae Harvesting and Wastewater Treatment. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 167, 214–228 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-012-9667-y

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