Treatment and Re-Use of Raw Blackwater by <i>Chlorella vulgaris</i>-Based System
2020
Marco Antonio Segovia Bifarini | Miha Žitnik | Tjaša Griessler Bulc | Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič
In this study, we examined a <i>Chlorella vulgaris</i>-based system as a potential solution to change liquid waste, such as blackwater, into valuable products for agriculture while protecting waters from pollution without technical demanding pre-treatment. To evaluate the possibility of nutrient removal and biomass production from raw blackwater, four blackwater dilutions were tested at lab-scale: 50%, 30%, 20%, and 10%. The results showed that even the less diluted raw blackwater was a suitable growth medium for microalgae <i>C. vulgaris</i>. As expected, the optimum conditions were observed in 10% blackwater with the highest growth rate (0.265 d<sup>−1</sup>) and a nutrient removal efficiency of 99.6% for ammonium and 33.7% for phosphate. However, the highest biomass productivity (5.581 mg chlorophyll-a L<sup>−1</sup> d<sup>−1</sup>) and total biomass (332.82 mg dry weight L<sup>−1</sup>) were achieved in 50% blackwater together with the highest chemical oxygen demand removal (81%) as a result of the highest nutrient content and thus prolonged growth phase. The results suggested that the dilution factor of 0.5 followed by microalgae cultivation with a hydraulic retention time of 14 days could offer the highest biomass production for the potential use in agriculture and, in parallel, a way to treat raw blackwater from source-separation sanitation systems.
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