Abstract
Microalgae have the potential of consuming high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater; thus, avoiding the risk of eutrophication of the water bodies. Nevertheless, ammonium can usually inhibit the growth of microalgae. Tolerance to ammonium is specific of each strain; so, the development of tertiary wastewater treatment proposals, employing microalgae, has as a first step the study of its tolerance to N-NH3. In this work, the tolerance of Chlorella vulgaris to N-NH3, using mineral medium, was studied. Afterward, C. vulgaris was used to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from a real wastewater. The maximal biomass concentration was reached at 66 ppm N-NH3 (0.49 gL-1) with the complete depletion of the ammonium and a phosphorus consumption of 2 mgPi L-1d-1 in all the experiments. When C. vulgaris was grown in real wastewater, the final biomass concentration was 0.267 g L-1 and the nutrients (N and P) were totally consumed after 3 days. According with these results, this strain of Chlorella has the potential for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from tertiary wastewater and the biomass produced in the process can be used for the production of high value products, such as pigments, proteins, carbohydrate or used for animal feed.
References
Barsanti L., Gualtieri P., Algae: anatomy, biochemistry, and biotechnology. Vasa. 2006.Search in Google Scholar
Britto D.T., Kronzucker H.J. NH4 + toxicity in higher plants: a critical review. J. Plant Physiol., 2002, 159(6), 567-58410.1078/0176-1617-0774Search in Google Scholar
Cade-Menun B.J., Paytan A., Nutrient temperature and light stress alter phosphorus and carbon forms in culture-grown algae. Mar. Chem., 2010, 121(1), 27-3610.1016/j.marchem.2010.03.002Search in Google Scholar
Cañizares-Villanueva R.O., Gonzalez-Moreno S., Dominguez-Bocanegra A.R., Growth, nutrient assimilation and cadmium removal by suspended and immobilized Scenedesmus acutus cultures: influence of immobilization matrix. In: Chen F., Jiang Y., editors. Algae their Biotechnol. Potential. Springer Netherlands, 2001, p. 147-61Search in Google Scholar
Cañizares-Villanueva R.O., Ramos A., Corona A.I., Monroy O., de la Torre M., Gomez-Lojero C., et al. Phormidium treatment of anaerobically treated swine wastewater. Water Res., 1994, 28(9), 1891-189510.1016/0043-1354(94)90164-3Search in Google Scholar
Cañizares R.O., Dominguez A.R., Growth of Spirulina maxima on swine waste. Bioresour. Technol., 1993, 45(1), 73-7510.1016/0960-8524(93)90148-5Search in Google Scholar
Cornet J.F., Dussap C.G., Cluzel P., Dubertret G., A structured model for simulation of cultures of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis in photobioreactors: II. Identification of kinetic parameters under light and mineral limitations. Biotechnol. Bioeng., 1992, 40(7), 826-83410.1002/bit.260400710Search in Google Scholar
Dodds W.K., Smith V.H., Nitrogen, phosphorus, and eutrophication in streams. Inland Waters. 2016, 6(2), 155-6410.5268/IW-6.2.909Search in Google Scholar
González L.E., Canizares R.O., Baena S., Efficiency of ammonia and phosphorus removal from a colombian agroindustrial wastewater by the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus dimorphus. Bioresour. Technol., 1997, 60(3), 259-26210.1016/S0960-8524(97)00029-1Search in Google Scholar
Harwood J., Kuhn A., A colorimetric method for ammonia in natural waters. Water Res., 1970, 4(12), 805-81110.1016/0043-1354(70)90037-0Search in Google Scholar
Hernández-Zamora M., Perales-Vela H.V., Flores-Ortiz C.M., Canizares-Villanueva R.O., Physiological and biochemical responses of Chlorella vulgaris to Congo Red. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf., 2014, 108, 72-7710.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.05.030Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Isleten-Hosoglu M., Gultepe I., Elibol M., Optimization of carbon and nitrogen sources for biomass and lipid production by Chlorella saccharophila under heterotrophic conditions and development of Nile red fluorescence based method for quantification of its neutral lipid content. Biochem. Eng. J., 2012, 61, 11-910.1016/j.bej.2011.12.001Search in Google Scholar
Kwon H.K., Oh S.J., Yang H.S., Growth and uptake kinetics of nitrate and phosphate by benthic microalgae for phytoremediation of eutrophic coastal sediments. Bioresour. Technol., 2013, 129, 387-39510.1016/j.biortech.2012.11.078Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Liu N., Li F., Ge F., Tao N., Zhou Q., Wong M., Mechanisms of ammonium assimilation by Chlorella vulgaris F1068: Isotope fractionation and proteomic approaches. Bioresour. Technol., 2015, 190, 307-31410.1016/j.biortech.2015.04.024Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Markou G., Fed-batch cultivation of Arthrospira and Chlorella in ammonia-rich wastewater: Optimization of nutrient removal and biomass production. Bioresour. Technol., 2015, 193, 35-4110.1016/j.biortech.2015.06.071Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Martínez-Roldan A.J., Perales-Vela H., Canizares-Villanueva R.O., Torzillo G., Physiological response of Nannochloropsis sp. to saline stress in laboratory batch cultures. J. Appl. Phycol., 2014, 26(1), 115-12110.1007/s10811-013-0060-1Search in Google Scholar
Martínez-Roldan A.J., Produccion de biomasa de Spirulina maxima en cultivo por lote utilizando un fotobiorreactor “air-lift” de cara plana y agua residual sintetica. Master Thesis. Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional; 2008Search in Google Scholar
Muñoz R., Guieysse B., Algal-bacterial processes for the treatment of hazardous contaminants: A review. Water Res. 2006, 40 2799-81510.1016/j.watres.2006.06.011Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Nasr M., Ateia M., Hassan K. Modeling the effects of operational parameters on algae growth. Algal Biofuels, 2017, 127-13910.1007/978-3-319-51010-1_7Search in Google Scholar
Rehman A., Shakoori A.R., Heavy metal resistance Chlorella spp., isolated from tannery effluents, and their role in remediation of hexavalent chromium in industrial waste water. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 2001, 66(4), 542-54710.1007/s001280041Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Rehman A., Shakoori F.R., Shakoori A.R., Heavy metal resistant Distigma proteus (Euglenophyta) isolated from industrial effluents and its possible role in bioremediation of contaminated wastewaters. World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 2006, 23(6), 753-75810.1007/s11274-006-9291-5Search in Google Scholar
Rier S., Kinek K., Hay S., Polyphosphate plays a vital role in the phosphorus dynamics of stream periphyton. Freshwater Science, 2016, 35(2), 490-50210.1086/685859Search in Google Scholar
Soletto D., Binaghi L., Lodi A., Carvalho J.C.M., Converti A., Batch and fed-batch cultivations of Spirulina platensis using ammonium sulphate and urea as nitrogen sources. Aquaculture. 2005, 243(1), 217-2410.1016/j.aquaculture.2004.10.005Search in Google Scholar
Tan X.B., Zhang Y.L., Yang L.B., Chu H.Q., Guo J., Outdoor cultures of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in the effluent of anaerobically digested activated sludge: The effects of pH and free ammonia. Bioresour. Technol., 2016, 200, 606-61510.1016/j.biortech.2015.10.095Search in Google Scholar
Taussky H., Shorr E., A microcolorimetric method for the determination of inorganic phosphorus. J. Biol. Chem., 1953, 202(2), 675-68510.1016/S0021-9258(18)66180-0Search in Google Scholar
Wang L., Min M., Li Y., Chen P., Chen Y., Liu Y., et al., Cultivation of green algae Chlorella sp. in different wastewaters from municipal wastewater treatment plant. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol., 2010, 162(4), 1174-118610.1007/s12010-009-8866-7Search in Google Scholar
Wellburn A.R., The spectral determination of Chlorophylls a and b, as well as Total Carotenoids, using various solvents with spectrophotometers of different resolution. J. Plant Physiol., 1994, 144(3), 307-31310.1016/S0176-1617(11)81192-2Search in Google Scholar
© 2017
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.