Opportunities and Challenges from Symbiosis of Agro-Industrial Residue Anaerobic Digestion with Microalgae Cultivation

Grazia Policastro (), Alessandra Cesaro, Massimiliano Fabbricino and Francesco Pirozzi
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Grazia Policastro: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Alessandra Cesaro: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Massimiliano Fabbricino: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Francesco Pirozzi: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: During the last few years, many studies have tested microalgal systems for nitrogen removal from the digestate. However, most of these studies were carried out using pure culture microalgal strains, which require aseptic conditions and thus cannot be used in full-scale applications. The aim of the present study was to explore opportunities in and challenges of the industrial symbiosis of anaerobic digestion and microalgae cultivation to enhance agro-industrial residue management. Batch tests were carried out to investigate the use of a mixed (open) microalgal consortium to treat the liquid fraction of the digestate for nitrogen removal. Preliminary experiments were performed to choose the carbon supply condition optimizing the growth of the open mixed consortium. In detail, the investigated carbon sources were bicarbonate, under two different carbon to nitrogen ratios, CO 2 via the free surface and CO 2 via air flushing. Further tests were conducted to compare the use of ammoniacal and nitric nitrogen sources. Then, the effectiveness of the liquid fraction of the digestate as nitrogen source was assessed. The highest biomass concentration of 1.6 g L −1 was obtained using CO 2 as carbon source via air flushing as feeding strategy and ammoniacal nitrogen. Biomass production was lower (0.6 g L −1 ) under the digestate. Nonetheless, due to a probable symbiosis between microalgae and bacteria, a total nitrogen removal of 98.5% was achieved, which was the highest obtained in the present study. Such experimental results address the identification of the steps needed for larger-scale application of combined anaerobic digestion and mixed microalgal systems.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; circular economy; microalgae technology; mixed consortium; wastewater treatment; waste recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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