title: Highly charged cellulose-based nanocrystals as flocculants for harvesting Chlorella vulgaris.
abstract: This study presents a novel flocculant for harvesting Chlorella vulgaris as model species for freshwater microalgae based on cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), thus synthesized from a renewable and biodegradable resource. Cationic pyridinium groups were grafted onto CNCs by two separate one-pot simultaneous esterification and nucleophilic substitution reactions. Both types of modified CNCs were positively charged in the pH range 4-11. Both reactions yielded CNCs with a high degree of substitution (up to 0.38). A maximum flocculation efficiency of 100% was achieved at a dosage of 0.1 g g(-1) biomass. In contrast to conventional polymer flocculants, cationic CNCs were relatively insensitive to inhibition of flocculation by algal organic matter. The present results highlight the potential of these new type of nanocellulose-based flocculants for microalgae harvesting.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Aquatic Biology, KU Leuven - Campus Kortrijk, Etienne Sabbelaan 53 box 7659, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dries
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vandamme
authors.affiliation: Renewable Materials and Nanotechnology Research Group, KU Leuven - Campus Kortrijk, Etienne Sabbelaan 53 box 7659, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eyley
authors.affiliation: Drug Delivery and Disposition, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, O & N II Herestraat 49 box 921, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van den Mooter
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Aquatic Biology, KU Leuven - Campus Kortrijk, Etienne Sabbelaan 53 box 7659, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Koenraad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muylaert
authors.affiliation: Renewable Materials and Nanotechnology Research Group, KU Leuven - Campus Kortrijk, Etienne Sabbelaan 53 box 7659, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium. Electronic address: wim.thielemans@kuleuven-kulak.be.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Thielemans
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002412:Cations; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism*; D048408:Chlorella vulgaris / Q000378:metabolism*; D005427:Flocculation; D058086:Microalgae / Q000378:metabolism; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D011108:Polymers; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Cationic; Cellulose nanocrystals; Chlorella vulgaris; Flocculation; Microalgae