title: Comparison of Chlorella vulgaris and cyanobacterial biomass: cultivation in urban wastewater and methane production.
abstract: Anaerobic digestion of microalgae is hampered by its complex cell wall. Against this background, cyanobacteria cell walls render this biomass as an ideal substrate for overcoming this drawback. The aim of the present study was to compare the growth of two cyanobacteria (Aphanizomenon ovalisporum and Anabaena planctonica) and a microalga (Chlorella vulgaris) in urban wastewater when varying the temperature (22, 27 and 32 °C). Cyanobacterial optimal growth for both strains was attained at 22 °C, while C. vulgaris did not show remarkable differences among temperatures. For all the microorganisms, ammonium removal was higher than phosphate. Biomass collected was subjected to anaerobic digestion. Methane yield of C. vulgaris was 184.8 mL CH4 g COD in(-1) while with A. ovalisporum and A. planctonica the methane production was 1.2- and 1.4-fold higher. This study showed that cyanobacteria growth rates could be comparable to microalgae while presenting the additional benefit of an increased anaerobic digestibility.
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Energy, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mendez
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, 11100, Narbonne, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sialve
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Energy, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Elia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tomás-Pejó
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Energy, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.|CIEMAT, Avda Complutense 22, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ballesteros
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, 11100, Narbonne, France.
authors.forename: Jean Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Steyer
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Energy, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain. cristina.gonzalez@imdea.org.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: González-Fernández
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D018533:Biomass; D048408:Chlorella vulgaris / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D008697:Methane; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Biogas; Chlorella vulgaris; Cyanobacteria; Nutrients removal; Wastewater