Time-Resolved Kinetic Measurement of Microalgae Agglomeration for Screening of Polysaccharides-Based Coagulants/Flocculants

Jinxia Zhou, Yunlu Jia, Xiaobei Gong, Hao Liu () and Chengwu Sun
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Jinxia Zhou: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou 510640, China
Yunlu Jia: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
Xiaobei Gong: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
Hao Liu: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou 510640, China
Chengwu Sun: Bengbu-SCUT Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing of Biomaterials, Bengbu 233010, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: Time-resolved monitoring of microalgae agglomeration facilitates screening of coagulants/flocculants (CFs) from numerous biopolymer candidates. Herein, a filtering-flowing analysis (FFA) apparatus was developed in which dispersed microalgal cells were separated from coagulates and flocs formed by CFs and pumped into spectrophotometer for real-time quantification. Polysaccharides-based CFs for Microcystis aeruginosa and several other microalgae were tested. Cationic hydroxyethyl cellulose (CHEC), chitosan quaternary ammonium (CQA) and cationic guar gum (CGG) all triggered coagulation obeying a pseudo-second-order model. Maximal coagulation efficiencies were achieved at their respective critical dosages, i.e., 0.086 g/g M.a. CHEC, 0.022 g/g M.a. CQA, and 0.216 g/g M.a. CGG. Although not active independently, bacterial exopolysaccharides (BEPS) aided coagulation of M. aeruginosa and allowed near 100% flocculation efficiency when 0.115 g/g M.a. CQA and 1.44 g/g M.a. xanthan were applied simultaneously. The apparatus is applicable to other microalgae species including Spirulina platensis , S. maxima , Chlorella vulgaris and Isochrysis galbana . Bio-based CFs sorted out using this apparatus could help develop cleaner processes for both remediation of harmful cyanobacterial blooms and microalgae-based biorefineries.

Keywords: time-resolved measurement; microalgae; coagulants/flocculants (CFs); filtering-flowing analysis (FFA); kinetics model; cationic polysaccharides; bacterial exopolysaccharides (BEPS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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