Ultrafiltration Harvesting of Microalgae Culture Cultivated in a WRRF: Long-Term Performance and Techno-Economic and Carbon Footprint Assessment

Juan Francisco Mora-Sánchez (), Josué González-Camejo (), Guillermo Noriega-Hevia, Aurora Seco and María Victoria Ruano
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Juan Francisco Mora-Sánchez: CALAGUA-Unidad Mixta UV-UPV, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat de València, Avinguda de la Universitat s/n, 46100 Valencia, Spain
Josué González-Camejo: CALAGUA-Unidad Mixta UV-UPV, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat de València, Avinguda de la Universitat s/n, 46100 Valencia, Spain
Guillermo Noriega-Hevia: CALAGUA-Unidad Mixta UV-UPV, Institut Universitari d’Investigació d’Enginyeria de l’Aigua i Medi Ambient-IIAMA, Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, Camí de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Aurora Seco: CALAGUA-Unidad Mixta UV-UPV, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat de València, Avinguda de la Universitat s/n, 46100 Valencia, Spain
María Victoria Ruano: CALAGUA-Unidad Mixta UV-UPV, Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat de València, Avinguda de la Universitat s/n, 46100 Valencia, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: A cross-flow ultrafiltration harvesting system for a pre-concentrated microalgae culture was tested in an innovative anaerobic-based WRRF. The microalgae culture was cultivated in a membrane photobioreactor fed with effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating sewage. These harvested microalgae biomasses were then anaerobically co-digested with primary and secondary sludge from the water line. Depending on the needs of this anaerobic co-digestion, the filtration harvesting process was evaluated intermittently over a period of 212 days for different operating conditions, mainly the total amount of microalgae biomass harvested and the desired final total solids concentration (up to 15.9 g·L −1 with an average of 9.7 g·L −1 ). Concentration ratios of 15–27 were obtained with average transmembrane fluxes ranging from 5 to 28 L·m −2 ·h −1 . Regarding membrane cleaning, both backflushing and chemical cleaning resulted in transmembrane flux recoveries that were, on average, 21% higher than those achieved with backflushing alone. The carbon footprint assessment shows promising results, as the GHG emissions associated with the cross-flow ultrafiltration harvesting process could be less than the emissions savings associated with the energy recovered from biogas production from the anaerobic valorisation of the harvested microalgae.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion (AD); cross-flow; greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; harvesting; membrane photobioreactor (MPBR); microalgae; ultrafiltration (UF); water resource recovery facility (WRRF) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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