• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.473-478
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• 2014

Microalgae is known as one alternative energy source of the fossil fuel with the small size of $5{\sim}50{\mu}m$ and negative charge. Currently, the cost of microalgae recovery process take a large part, about 20 - 30% of total operating cost. Thus, the microalgae recovery method with low cost is needed. In this study, the optimum current for Scenedesmus dimorphus recovery process using electrocoagulation techniques was investigated. Under the electrical current, Al metal in anode electrode is oxidized to oxidation state of $Al^{3+}$. In the cathode electrode, the water electrolysis generated $OH^-$ which combine with $Al^{3+}$ to produce $Al(OH)_3$. This hydroxide acts as a coagulant to harvest microalgae. Before applying in 1.5 L capacity electrocoagulation reactor, Scenedesmus dimorphus was cultured in 20 L cylindrical reactor to concentration of 1 OD. The microalgae recovery efficiency of electrocoagulation reactor was evaluated under different current conditions from 0.1 ~ 0.3 A. The results show that, the fastest and highest recovery efficiency were achieved at the current or 0.3 A, which the highest energy efficiency was achieved at 0.15 A.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.285-290
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• 2013

Recently a novel bio refinery process with using nonedible biomass, especially microalgae, has been developed in order to directly reduce $CO_2$ concentration from flue gas and simultaneously produce renewable bio fuel. Micro algae-to-biofuel processes are composed of microalgae cultivation, harvesting, lipid extraction, and bio fuel conversion. So, there are concerns about the energy efficiencies of bio refinery processes. In this study, the net energy ratio of microalgae processes were calculated for the microalgae produced from a pilot photobioreacto using $CO_2$ released from coal combustion. In this study, trans-esterification and pyrolysis processes were used to analyze the net energy efficiencies. Micro algae-to-biofuel processes might produce bio fuels with the higher energy than that of the total consumed energy for cultivation, harvesting, extraction and conversion. If the lipid content of microalgae was higher, the trans-esterification conversion process was more effective than that of pyrolysis process.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.625-631
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• 2015

In this study, low cost bio-flocculants, chitosan, cationic starch and Mg-sericite, were used as a flocculant to harvest freshwater microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris. Chitosan, cationic starch and Mg-sericite separated successfully >98% of C. vulgaris at following optimal parameters: 90 mg/L chitosan at pH 6-7, 70 mg/L cationic starch at pH 9-10 and 50 mg/L Mg-sericite at pH 4-5. A relatively high correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.9993 for chitosan, 0.9971 for catonic starch and 0.9924 for Mg-sericite was obtained. The investigated flocculants amount increased linearly with increasing the microalgae amount. The biopolymer, Mg-sericite, was more effective than that of other investigated flocculants. These results indicated that a bio-flocculants, chitosan, cationic starch and Mg-sericite, could prove to be an effective flocculant for economical production of microalgae biomass. In addition, Mg-sericite was more effective comparing to the other investigated flocculants.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.432-438
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• 2018

Microalgae hold promise as a renewable energy source for the production of biofuel, as they can convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. However, cost-efficient harvest of microalgae remains a major challenge to commercial-scale algal biofuel production. We first investigated the potential of electrolytic water as a flocculant for harvesting Tetraselmis sp. Alkaline electrolyzed water (AEW) is produced at the cathode through water electrolysis. It contains mineral ions such as $Na^+$, $K^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$ that can act as flocculants. The flocculation activity with AEW was evaluated via culture density, AEW concentration, medium pH, settling time, and ionic strength analyses. The flocculation efficiency was 88.7% at 20% AEW (pH 8, 10 min) with a biomass concentration of 2 g/l. The initial biomass concentration and medium pH had significant influences on the flocculation activity of AEW. A viability test of flocculated microalgal cells was conducted using Evans blue stain, and the cells appeared intact. Furthermore, the growth rate of Tetraselmis sp. in recycled flocculation medium was similar to the growth rate in fresh F/2 medium. Our results suggested that AEW flocculation could be a very useful and affordable methodology for fresh biomass harvesting with environmentally friendly easy operation in part of the algal biofuel production process.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.18-23
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• 2016

Cell walls of microalgae consist of a polysaccharide and glycoprotein matrix providing the cells with a formidable defense against its environment. Anaerobic digestion (AD) of microalgae is primarily inhibited by the chemical composition of their cell walls containing biopolymers able to resist bacterial degradation. Adoption of pre-treatments such as thermal, thermal hydrolysis, ultrasound and enzymatic hydrolysis have the potential to remove these inhibitory compounds and enhance biogas yields by degrading the cell wall, and releasing the intracellular algogenic organic matter (AOM). This paper preproposal stage investigated the effect of different pre-treatments on microalgae cell wall, and their impact on the quantity of soluble biomass released in the media and thus on the digestion process yields. This Paper present optimum approach to degradation of the cell wall by ultra-sonication with practical design specification parameter for ultrasound based pretreatment system. As a result of this paper presents, a microalgae system in a wastewater treatment flowsheet for residual nutrient uptake can be justified by processing the waste biomass for energy recovery. As a conclusion on this result, Low energy harvesting technologies and pre-treatment of the algal biomass are required to improve the overall energy balance of this integrated system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.151-158
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• 2024

Microalgae are aquatic microorganisms capable of photosynthetic growth using water, carbon dioxide and sunlight, and can replace petroleum for transportation. It is receiving great attention as a potential next-generation biological resource. The microalgae biodiesel production process is largely based on the development of highly efficient strains and mass production. It consists of cultivation, harvesting, oil extraction, fuel conversion and by-product utilization. Currently, microalgae diesel is 3-5 times more expensive than petroleum diesel. However, with the optimization of each element technology and the development of integrated systems, not only biofuels, but also industrial materials, wastewater treatment, and greenhouse gases As application expands to various fields such as abatement, the timing of commercialization may be brought forward. Oil prices have recently fallen due to the influence of sail gas. Although there has been a significant drop, global warming is an urgent challenge for current and future generations. In particular, Korea, which does not have oil resources, We must always prepare for political environmental changes, high oil prices, and energy crises. In this paper, the need for eco-friendly biofuel for carbon dioxide conversion. In addition to research trends, domestic and international research trends, and economic prospects, the concept of microalgae and the element technologies of the biodiesel production process are briefly discussed introduced.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2017

Cost-effective microalgae harvesting methods are necessary for economical production of algal biodiesel. In this study, membranes with various pore sizes and materials were examined for their potentials in application to gravity-filtration of Tetraselmis sp. KCTC12432BP. For this test, 10 L of Tetraselmis sp. culture (2 g/L) was loaded on each membrane and filtration rates were measured. Among the tested materials, a woven cotton fabric showed the fastest water drain rate (0.73 L/hr) without serious cell leakage. Cell density of the concentrates after filtration was 6.8 g/L, indicating 3.4-fold concentration compared with the initial algal culture. The result suggests that the woven cotton fabric could serve as filtration membrane for harvesting Tetraselmis sp. among the tested ones.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.499-515
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate membrane fouling caused by microalgal cells in submerged membrane systems consisting of polymeric and ceramic microfiltration membranes. In this study, one polymeric (flat-sheet, pore size: $0.2{\mu}m$) and two ceramic (flat-sheet, pore size: $0.2{\mu}m$ and cylindrical, pore size: $1{\mu}m$) membranes were used. Physical cleaning was performed with water and air to determine the potential for reversible and irreversible membrane fouling. The study results showed that substantial irreversible membrane fouling (after four filtration cycles, irreversible fouling degree 27% (cleaning with water) and 38% (cleaning with air)) occurs in the polymeric membrane. In cleaning studies performed using water and air on ceramic membranes, it was observed that compressed air was more effective (recovery rate: 87-91%) for membrane cleaning. The harvesting performance of the membranes was examined through critical flux experiments. The critical flux values for polymeric membrane with a pore size of $0.20{\mu}m$ and ceramic membranes with a pore size of $0.20{\mu}m$ and $1{\mu}m$ were ${\leq}95L/m^2hour$, ${\leq}70L/m^2hour$ and ${\leq}55L/m^2hour$, respectively. It was determined that critical flux varies depending on the membrane material and the pore size. To obtain more information on membrane fouling caused by microalgal cells, the characterization of the fouled polymeric membrane was performed. This study concluded that ceramic membranes with a pore size of $0.2-1{\mu}m$ in the submerged membrane system could be efficiently used for microalgae harvesting by cleaning the membrane with compressed air at regular intervals.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2011

This paper describes current status and future prospects of the mass production of microalgae biomass. Microalgae have attracted considerable attention since they not only effectively fix $CO_2$ gas during their metabolic process but also have the great potential to be utilized for producing valuable substances as a kind of efficient light-harvesting cell factories. In this review, we outline various types of photobioreactors employed for mass production of biomass by culturing microalgae in a well controlled way and give an overview about the present state of affairs, both domestic and international, in the field of the microalgal culturing technologies.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.376-380
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• 2018

Microalgae produce not only lipids for biodiesel production but also valuable biochemicals which are often accumulated under cellular stress mediated by certain chemicals. While the microcarriers for the application of drug delivery systems for animal cells are widely studied, their applications into microalgal research or biorefinery are rarely investigated. Here we develope dual-functional magnetic microcapsules which work not only as flocculants for microalgal harvesting but also potentially as microcarriers for the controlled release of target chemicals stimulating microalgae to enhance the accumulation of valuable chemicals. Magnetic microcapsules are synthesized by layer-by-layer(LbL) coating of PSS-PDDA on $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticle-embedded $CaCO_3$ microparticles followed by removing $CaCO_3$ sacrificial templates. The positively charged magnetic microcapsules flocculate microalgae by electrostatic interaction which are sequentially collected by the magnetophoretic separation. The microcapsules with a polycationic outer layer provide efficient binding sites for negatively charged microalgae and by that means are further utilized as a chemical-delivery and flocculation system for microalgal research and biorefineries.