Algal monocultures (Chlorella sorokiniana and Botryococcus braunii) and algal communities native to clarifiers of a wastewater treatment plant were batch cultivated in (1) clarified effluent following a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) removal reactor post-BOD removal clarified effluent (PBCE), (2) clarified effluent following a nitrification reactor post-nitrification clarified effluent (PNCE), and (3) a reference media (RM). After 12 days, all algal species achieved nitrogen removal between 68 and 82% in PBCE and 37 and 99% in PNCE, and phosphorus removal between 91 and 100% in PBCE and 60 and 100% in PNCE. The pH of the wastewater samples increased above 9.8 after cultivation of each species, which likely aided ammonia volatilization and phosphorus adsorption. Both monocultures grew readily with wastewater as a feedstock, but B. braunii experienced significant crowding from endemic fauna. In most cases, native algal species' nutrient removal efficiency was competitive with augmented algal monocultures, and in some cases achieved a higher biomass yield, demonstrating the potential to utilize native species for nutrient polishing and algal biomass production.
Implications of nutrient removal and biomass production by native and augmented algal populations at a municipal wastewater treatment plant
Ivy L. C. Drexler, Sascha Bekaan, Yasmin Eskandari, Daniel H. Yeh; Implications of nutrient removal and biomass production by native and augmented algal populations at a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Water Sci Technol 1 October 2014; 70 (7): 1152–1160. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2014.340
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Ivy L. C. Drexler, Sascha Bekaan, Yasmin Eskandari, Daniel H. Yeh; Implications of nutrient removal and biomass production by native and augmented algal populations at a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Water Sci Technol 1 October 2014; 70 (7): 1152–1160. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2014.340
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