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Microalgae Production Integrated with the Wastewater Treatment: A Management Approach
Microalgae are a sustainable source of high value-added bioproducts that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as energy, food, and raw materials. However, the costs incurred to microalgae production are still very high, which prevents its large-scale application from being economically viable. One widely discussed solution in recent years is the association of microalgae cultivation with wastewater treatment, in order to reduce costs related to its cultivation. In this process, the microalgae uptake nutrients (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) and other substances from the wastewater, generating a treated wastewater effluent and a microalgal biomass with high economic value. After the cultivation process, the generated biomass has to be recovered from the wastewater. Harvesting is also a bottleneck process because it represents about 20–60% of the total production costs. Since there is no universal method applied to microalgae recovery, different harvesting methods have been investigated, mainly including centrifugation, filtration, flotation, and sedimentation. Thus, choosing the appropriated harvesting method is crucial for a cost-effective microalgae production. In this context, this chapter presents an overview of the microalgae production, integrated with the wastewater treatment, and the potential harvesting methods. In addition, the challenges to apply the system in Brazil are also discussed.
Microalgae Production Integrated with the Wastewater Treatment: A Management Approach
Microalgae are a sustainable source of high value-added bioproducts that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as energy, food, and raw materials. However, the costs incurred to microalgae production are still very high, which prevents its large-scale application from being economically viable. One widely discussed solution in recent years is the association of microalgae cultivation with wastewater treatment, in order to reduce costs related to its cultivation. In this process, the microalgae uptake nutrients (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) and other substances from the wastewater, generating a treated wastewater effluent and a microalgal biomass with high economic value. After the cultivation process, the generated biomass has to be recovered from the wastewater. Harvesting is also a bottleneck process because it represents about 20–60% of the total production costs. Since there is no universal method applied to microalgae recovery, different harvesting methods have been investigated, mainly including centrifugation, filtration, flotation, and sedimentation. Thus, choosing the appropriated harvesting method is crucial for a cost-effective microalgae production. In this context, this chapter presents an overview of the microalgae production, integrated with the wastewater treatment, and the potential harvesting methods. In addition, the challenges to apply the system in Brazil are also discussed.
Microalgae Production Integrated with the Wastewater Treatment: A Management Approach
Hdb Environm.Chemistry
Nasr, Mahmoud (editor) / Negm, Abdelazim M. (editor) / Leite, Luan de Souza (author) / Daniel, Luiz Antonio (author)
2022-08-30
25 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
| Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2022