Carbon conversion efficiency and population dynamics of a marine algae-bacteria consortium growing on simplified synthetic digestate: first step in a bioprocess coupling algal production and anaerobic digestion.
Association of microalgae culture and anaerobic digestion seems a promising technology for sustainable algal biomass and biogas production. The use of digestates for sustaining the growth of microalgae reduces the costs and the environmental impacts associated with the substantial algal nutrient requirements. A natural marine algae-bacteria consortium was selected by growing on a medium containing macro nutrients (ammonia, phosphate and acetate) specific of a digestate, and was submitted to a factorial experimental design with different levels of temperature, light and pH. The microalgal consortium reached a maximum C conversion efficiency (i.e. ratio between carbon content produced and carbon supplied through light photosynthetic C conversion and acetate) of 3.6%. The presence of bacteria increased this maximum C conversion efficiency up to 6.3%. The associated bacterial community was considered beneficial to the total biomass production by recycling the carbon lost during photosynthesis and assimilating organic by-products from anaerobic digestion.
Laboratoire Ecologie des systèmes Marins côtiers UMR 5119 ECOSYM (Université Montpellier 2, CNRS, IRD, IFREMER, Université Montpellier 1), SMEL, 2 rue des Chantiers, Sète F-34200, France.
Christophe
C
Vasseur
Gaël
G
Bougaran
Matthieu
M
Garnier
Jérôme
J
Hamelin
Christophe
C
Leboulanger
Myriam
M
Le Chevanton
Behzad
B
Mostajir
Bruno
B
Sialve
Jean-Philippe
JP
Steyer
Eric
E
Fouilland
D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D008027:Light; D058086:Microalgae / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D058433:Photobioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology
D002244:Carbon