Bioremediation of piggery effluents using Scenedesmus Obliquus microalga [Resumo]

Effluents from intensive pig farms present high nutrient concentration, mainly ammonium, contributing to water eutrophication and pollution. Microalgae ability to deplete inorganic nutrients makes them an efficient effluent bioremediation tool. Scenedesmus obliquus was grown in piggery effluent (without any pretreatment) diluted with tap water at 5%v/v (187±25mg/L N-NH4+) and compared with growth in synthetic Bristol media. A 21-days trial was performed in 1L bubble-column reactors illuminated by fluorescent and LED lamps(3klux). Microalgae growth was monitored through OD540nm, dry weight and Chlorophyll content and also by flow cytometry in terms of autofluorescence read in FL3 channel (>670 nm), cell size (FSC), internal complexity (SSC) and cell membrane integrity (PI). S. obliquus cells have grown slower in pig effluent (mmax=0.13-19d-1) than in Bristol media (mmax=0.46-0.50d-1) although after 15 days the biomass productivity observed for the pig waste cultivation, operated under LED (0.127gL-1d-1) was similar to those attained for the Bristol media after 8 and 12 days (0.130 and 0.129 gL-1d-1 using Fluorescent and LED lights, respectively). The Chlorophyll content was correlated to FL3 autofluorescence, with R2>0.97 for Bristol and R2>0.92 for pig waste cultures. Regarding cell size and complexity, Bristol cultures did not show significant differences along time, while cells grown on pig waste increased, attaining FSC and SSC values similar to those observed for Bristol cultures. However, pig waste led to higher percentage of cells with permeabilised membrane (up to 18%) than Bristol cultures (7%). For pig waste experiments, ammonium removal rates were 95% with final values within legal limits. S. obliquus cultivations proved to be an efficient system for direct piggery effluent bioremediation, attaining biomass productivities similar to those obtained in synthetic media. Using LED lighting enables to reduce the energy consumption while maintaining microalgae growth and bioremediation performance. Scale-up to an outdoor 150L photobioreactor is underway.

Food and fuel microalgae applications: insights from portuguese experience [Resumo]

Microalgae have a wide range of application fields, from food to fuels, to pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, aquaculture and environmental bioremediation, among others. Spirulina and Chlorella have been used as food sources since ancient times, due to their high and balanced nutritional value. Our research group in Lisbon has developed a range of food products (emulsions, gelled desserts, biscuits and pastas) enriched with freshwater and marine microalgae (Spirulina, Chlorella, Haematococcus, Isochrysis and Diacronema). The developed products presented attractive and stable colours, high resistance to oxidation and enhanced rheological properties. Some of these products will be prepared at the Post-Congress Course “Functional Foods Development” at the University of Antofagasta. More recently, a great interest has arisen on using microalgae for biofuel production. The same group has also been exploring several marine and freshwater species for biofuel production (e.g., biodiesel, bioethanol, biohydrogen and biomethane) within a biorefinery approach, in order to obtain high and low-value co-products using integral biomass maximizing the energy revenue. Namely, supercritical fluid extraction of Nannochloropsis sp. allowed the recovery of valuable carotenoids and lipids, prior to bioH2 production through dark fermentation of the residual biomass. Also, Scenedesmus obliquus residues after sugars (for bioethanol) and lipids (for biodiesel) extraction has been anaerobically digested attaining high biomethane yields. Regarding sustainability issues, the current trend of our group is now focused on using liquid effluents and high CO2 levels for low cost microalgae growth, contributing to a lower water demand, primary energy consumption and global warming potential by reducing the need for potable water and fertilizers (P, N) and increasing CO2 mitigation. Microalgae biomass has been successfully used for urban wastewater treatment with subsequent bioH2 production, in a biorefinery approach. Presently, ammonium-rich raw effluents from piggeries and poultry industry are being effectively used for microalgae growth avoiding any pre-treatment step.

An electrochemical process for the production of synthetic fuels at low temperatures [Resumo]

Following work exploring the low temperature electrolysis in alkaline media, using graphite consumable anodes, from which syngas was obtained1, laboratory studies have been conducted in acid media pursuing higher efficiency in the production of hydrogen and synthetic fuels. Experiments were conducted in an own designed undivided planar cell with 25 cm2 geometrical area electrodes using a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution with and without Fe(II) additions. Fe2+ oxidizes to Fe3+ at the anode surface. The redox couple Fe3+/ Fe2+ acts as an oxidation mediator not only oxidizing the bulk and detached graphite but also the surface functional groups. The practical experimental potential for graphite oxidation is within the range for the electroxidation of the Fe redox couple giving as a result a 4-fold increase in the amount of produced CO2 at near room temperature, when using 0.025 M FeSO4.