• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.530-534
• /
• 2017

Chitosan is a promising flocculant for microalgae harvesting, but its scale-up application is not economically supported yet. Low solubility of chitosan in microalgae suspension demands high dosage (as a flocculant) to destabilize the cells, and thus, increases the cost of microalgae harvesting. This study identifies efficient solvents for the chitosan, and optimizes the concentration of solvents and chitosan dose to improve the harvesting efficiency. Chitosan was dissolved in different acids, and subsequently used as a flocculant. The flocculant efficacy was measured in terms of harvesting efficiency and reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the microalgae suspension. It was found that chitosan dissolved in 0.05 M HCl showed the highest harvesting efficiency ($89{\pm}0.87%$) at only 30 mg/L of dosage. In comparison, 270 mg/L of $FeCl_3{\cdot}6H_2O$ was required to attain $86{\pm}0.083%$ of the harvesting efficiency. $H_2SO_4$ dissolved chitosan required high flocculant dose (150 mg/L) and resulted in relatively low harvesting efficiency ($77{\pm}0.11%$). It was concluded that the efficacy of chitosan is solvent dependent, and the selection of proper solvent can decrease the dosage requirement for microalgae harvesting.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.356-362
• /
• 2017

This study investigates the use of methyl-esterified eggshell membranes (MESM) for the harvesting of microalgae species under various conditions. Eggshell membranes were esterified with HCl to impact polycationic characteristics. After methyl esterification, the negative surface charge property of eggshell membrane was changed from negative to positive for all pH values to improve microalgae sorption capacity. The harvesting efficiency of microalgae by MESM reached 78-99% for all pH ranges evaluated. In addition, a 150 mesh particle size and $10mg\;L^{-1}$ MESM dose were found to yield up to 98% microalgae harvesting. These results indicate that the high cationic charge of MESM strongly adsorbs the negatively-charged microalgae. MESM is biocompatible and can be applied to the harvest of microalgae.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.143-150
• /
• 2011

The aim of the study was to optimize harvesting method for concentrating microalgae from microalgae mass culture. It is well known that the mass density of microalgae is usually very low and these are small size (5-20 ${\mu}m$) in the culture medium. It is essential that microalgae is harvested and concentrated economically for economical biodiesel production from microalgae. In this study, to determine optimized conditions for microalgae harvesting by chemical flocculation. Flocculation of three algae, Chlorella ellipsoidea, Dunaliella bardawil, and Dunaliella tertiolecta, was performed using various chemical flocculants, such as inorganic flocculants (aluminium sulfate, aluminium potassium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, ferric sulfate, ferric chloride, calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium nitrite, and sodium aluminate), organic flocculant (polyacrylamide), and biopolymer flocculants (chitosan and starch). The results indicated that aluminium based inorganic flocculants is suitable for microalgae harvesting such as Chlorella ellipsoidea, Dunaliella bardawil, and Dunaliella tertiolecta. The results also recommended that flocculant doses, agitation speed, agitation time, sedimentation time for economical microalgae harvesting method using chemical flocculants.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.643-649
• /
• 2015

Although microalgae are considered as a promising feedstock for biofuels, cost-efficient harvesting of microalgae needs to be significantly improved. In this study, the use of electro coagulation as a more rapid flocculation method for harvesting a freshwater (Scenedesmus dimorphus) microalgae species was evaluated. The results showed that, electro coagulation was shown to be more efficient using an aluminum anode than using an iron anode. And optimum conditions of electro coagulation for harvesting Scenedesmus dimorphus were found. The optimum stirring speed was 100 rpm and optimum pH was 5. Furthermore, the current density which the fastest and highest recovery efficiency is achieved at $30A/m^2$, while the highest energy efficiency was achieved at $10A/m^2$. A the rapid and high recovery efficiency indicate that electro coagulation is a particularly attractive technology for harvesting microalgae.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.328-333
• /
• 2015

In this study, Mg-Sericite was used as a flocculant to harvest freshwater microalgae, Chlorella. vulgaris. Mg-Sericite separated successfully >95% of the C. vulgaris at the following optimal parameters: Mg/Si mol ratio 1.25 to 1.50, mixing time of 20 min and settling time of 20 min. The harvesting efficiency was pH dependent. The highest harvesting efficiency ($99{\pm}0.3%$) was obtained at Mg/Si mol ratio 1.5 and pH 9 to 11. These results indicated that a biopolymer, Mg-Sericite, can be a promising flocculant due to its high efficiency, low dose requirements, short mixing and settling times. This harvesting method is helpful to lower the production cost of algae for biodiesel.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.99-104
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of forward osmosis (FO) system for harvesting microalgae cultivated in secondary sewage effluent. Microalgae species used in this study were chlorella sp. ADE4. The drawing agents used for forward osmosis system were seawater and concentrate of sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) system. Chlorella sp. ADE4 cultured in secondary sewage effluent illustrated moderate efficiency in removal of total nitrogen (TN) (68%) and superior performance in total phosphorus (TP) removal (99%). Comparison of seawater and SWRO concentrate as drawing agent were made in FO membrane separation of the microalgae. The result from this study depicts that SWRO concentrate is strong drawing agent in FO membrane system providing an average dewatering rate of $4.8L/(m^2{\cdot}hr)$ compared to seawater with average dewatering of $2.9L/(m^2{\cdot}hr)$. Results obtained from this study indicated that FO system could be viable option for harvesting the microalgae for further biodiesel production. SWRO concentrate as a drawing agent could be very important finding in field of membrane technology for disposal of SWRO concentrate.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.103-108
• /
• 2012

The harvesting of microalgae is a critical step that precedes biodiesel conversion. The most widely used harvesting technology is flocculation and floatation. In this study, the efficiency of the flocculants aluminum sulfate and poly aluminum chloride were evaluated for harvesting the alga Dunaliella tertiolecta in conjunction with dissolved air floatation. Using the jar test the optimum concentration range for aluminum sulfate was 1.0~1.5 g/L and for poly aluminium chloride, 1.5~2.0 g/L. The degree of coagulation was visualized by microscopy. Further analysis in combination with dissolved air floatation showed that the optimal concentration for aluminum sulfate was 1.1 g/L and for poly aluminum chloride, 1.6 g/L.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.63-69
• /
• 2021

Microalgae are primary producers of aquatic ecosystems, securing biodiversity and health of the ecosystem and contributing to reducing the impact of climate change through carbon dioxide fixation. Also, they are useful biomass that can be used as biological resources for producing valuable industrial products. However, harvesting process, which is the separation of microalgal biomass from mixed liquor, is an important bottleneck in use of valorization of microalgae as a bioresource accounting for 20 to 30% of the total production cost. This study investigates the applicability of sewage sludge-derived extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) as bioflucculant for harvesting microalgae. We compared the flocculation characteristics of microalgae using EPSs extracted from sewage sludge by three methods. The flocculation efficiency of microalgae is closely related to the carbohydrate and protein concentrations of EPS. Heat-extracted EPS contains the highest carbohydrate and protein concentrations and can be a best-suited bioflocculant for microalgae recovery with 87.2% flocculation efficiency. Injection of bioflocculant improved the flocculation efficiency of all three different algal strains, Chlorella Vulgaris, Chlamydomonas Asymmetrica, Scenedesmus sp., however the improvement was more significant when it was used for flocculation of Chlamydomonas Asymmetrica with flagella.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.31 no.7
• /
• pp.386-391
• /
• 2021

The formation of CaCO₃ in microalgal culture is investigated and applied for effective separation of microalgae. The presence of several cationic ions in the culture medium mediates the formation of 3 types of mineral precipitates depending on the concentration of mineral precursors, Ca²⁺ and CO₃^2-, amorphous nano-flakes, rhombohedral calcites, and spherical vaterites. While amorphous phased precipitates are formed for all concentrations of mineral precursor, only calcites are formed for 30 mM solutions of mineral precursor, and mixtures of calcites and vaterites are formed for 50 and 100 mM solutions of mineral precursor. The harvesting efficiency is also dependent on the concentration of the mineral precursor: from 90 % for 10 mM to 99 % for 100 mM after 60 mins' of gravitational sedimentation. The formation of nano-flakes on the surface of microalgal cells induces the flocculation of microalgae by breaking the stable dispersion. The negatively charged surface of the microalgal cell is compatible not only with nano-flake attachment but also with the growth of calcitic crystals in which microalgal cells are embedded.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.109-127
• /
• 2024

High production and efficient harvesting of microalgae containing high omega-3 levels are critical concerns for industrial use. Aeration can elevate production of some microalgae by providing CO₂ and O₂. However, it may lower the production of others by generating shear stress, causing severe cell damage. The mixotrophic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium smaydae is a new, promising microalga for omega-3 fatty acid production owing to its high docosahexaenoic acid content, and determining optimal conditions and methods for high omega-3 fatty acid production and efficient harvest using G. smaydae is crucial for its commercial utilization. Therefore, to determine whether continuous aeration is required, we measured densities of G. smaydae and the dinoflagellate prey Heterocapsa rotundata in a 100-L semi-continuous cultivation system under no aeration and continuous aeration conditions daily for 9 days. Furthermore, to determine the optimal conditions for harvesting through centrifugation, different rotational speeds of the continuous centrifuge and different flow rates of the pump injecting G. smaydae + H. rotundata cells into the centrifuge were tested. Under continuous aeration, G. smaydae production gradually decreased; however, without aeration, the production remained stable. Harvesting efficiency and the dry weights of omega-3 fatty acids of G. smaydae + H. rotundata cells at a rotational speed of 16,000 rpm were significantly higher than those at 2,000-8,000 rpm. However, these parameters did not significantly differ at injection pump flow rates of 1.0-4.0 L min^-1. The results of the present study provide a basis for optimized production and harvest conditions for G. smaydae and other microalgae.