Sustainable Production of Monoraphidium Microalgae Biomass as a Source of Bioenergy

Małgorzata Hawrot-Paw, Adam Koniuszy and Małgorzata Gałczyńska
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Małgorzata Hawrot-Paw: Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Pawla VI 1, 71-459 Szczecin, Poland
Adam Koniuszy: Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Pawla VI 1, 71-459 Szczecin, Poland
Małgorzata Gałczyńska: Department of Bioengineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Slowackiego 17, 71-434 Szczecin, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: Microalgae are a renewable source of unconventional biomass with potential application in the production of various biofuels. The production of carbon-neutral fuels is necessary for protecting the environment. This work determined the possibility of producing biomass of microalgae belonging to Monoraphidium genus using saline wastewater resulting from proecological salmon farming in the recirculating aquaculture system. The tests were carried out in tubular photobioreactors using LED light. As a part of the analyses, the growth and productivity of microalgal biomass, cell density in culture, and lipid concentration and ash content in biomass were determined. In addition, the concentration of selected phosphorus and nitrogen forms present in wastewater corresponding to the degree of their use by microalgae as a nutrient substrate was determined. The biomass concentration estimated in the tests was 3.79 g·L −1 , while the maximum biomass productivity was 0.46 g·L −1 ·d −1 . The cells’ optical density in culture measured at 680 nm was 0.648. The lipid content in biomass was 18.53% (dry basis), and the ash content was 32.34%. It was found that microalgae of the genus Monoraphidium effectively used the nitrogen as well as phosphorus forms present in the wastewater for their growth. The total nitrogen content in the sewage decreased by 82.62%, and total phosphorus content by over 99%. The analysis of the individual forms of nitrogen showed that N-NO 3 was reduced by 85.37% and N-NO 2 by 78.43%, while orthophosphate (V) dissolved in water was reduced by 99%. However, the content of N-NH 4 in wastewater from the beginning till the end of the experiment remained <0.05 mg·L −1 .

Keywords: microalgae; bioenergy; biomass; lipids; aquaculture wastewater (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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