Green microalga Scenedesmus acutus grown on municipal wastewater to couple nutrient removal with lipid accumulation for biodiesel production.
The green microalga Scenedesmus acutus was cultivated in two different municipal wastewater discharges (pre- and post-treated), and was compared to a culture medium with basic nutrients (20% of N, P, K), in order to study the simultaneous potential of nutrient removal and lipid accumulation ability. The highest level of nutrient removal was found in the pretreated wastewater discharge (achieving a high removal of phosphorus [66%] and organic nitrogen [94%]). Likewise, better results on biomass productivity and lipid accumulation were found in cultures using pretreated wastewater compared to enriched medium, obtaining 79.9 mg/L, and 280 mg/L, respectively. Since the best results were found in pretreated wastewater, the biodiesel preparation was performed using said medium at small-scale. After cultivation, 249.4 mg/L of biodiesel were obtained. According to this analysis, S. acutus could be used for wastewater treatment producing biomass with a suitable content of lipids, convenient for biodiesel production.
Laboratorio de Microbiología Experimental, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, 04510 México City, Mexico. Electronic address: m.sac.alva@gmail.com.
Manuel
M
Sacristán de Alva
Laboratorio de Microbiología Experimental, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, 04510 México City, Mexico. Electronic address: lpvictor@unam.mx.
Víctor M
VM
Luna-Pabello
Laboratorio de Microbiología Experimental, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, 04510 México City, Mexico. Electronic address: erasmo.cadena@gmail.com.
Erasmo
E
Cadena
Laboratorio de Microbiología Experimental, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, 04510 México City, Mexico.
Edgar
E
Ortíz
D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D002138:Calibration; D002947:Cities; D003470:Culture Media; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D058086:Microalgae / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry; D044444:Scenedesmus / Q000378:metabolism*; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
D056804:Biofuels; D003470:Culture Media; D008055:Lipids; D009584:Nitrogen; D010758:Phosphorus; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Biodiesel; Lipid accumulation; Microalga; Scenedesmus acutus; Wastewater treatment