• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.29 no.9
• /
• pp.1434-1443
• /
• 2019

Although chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an important issue for wastewater treatment, COD reduction with microalgae has been less studied compared to nitrogen or phosphorus removal. COD removal is not efficient in conventional wastewater treatment using microalgae, because the algae release organic compounds, thereby finally increasing the COD level. This study focused on enhancing COD removal and meeting the effluent standard for discharge by optimizing sludge inoculation timing, which was an important factor in forming a desirable algae/bacteria consortium for more efficient COD removal and higher biomass productivity. Activated sludge has been added to reduce COD in many studies, but its inoculation was done at the start of cultivation. However, when the sludge was added after 3 days of cultivation, at which point the COD concentration started to increase again, the algal growth and biomass productivity were higher than those of the initial sludge inoculation and control (without sludge). Algal and bacterial cell numbers measured by qPCR were also higher with sludge inoculation at 3 days later. In a semi-continuous cultivation system, a hydraulic retention time of 5 days with sludge inoculation resulted in the highest biomass productivity and N/P removal. This study achieved a further improved COD removal than the conventional microalgal wastewater treatment, by introducing bacteria in activated sludge at optimized timing.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.9-18
• /
• 1999

This study was performed to investigate the optimum microalgal culture conditions using flask culture and to find the feasibility of using the flue gas of the rice husk incinerator for cultivating the microalgae. The optimum initial pH of media was 4.5 for the microalgae culture, and the intermittently illuminated culture was more effective than the continuous illuminated culture. Thus, the balance between photosynthesis and formative metabolism must be considered thoroughly to cultivate microalgal cells. The optimum CO2 concentrations were in the range of 7 to 10%, and the optimum temperature was about 35$^{\circ}C$ in both the daytime and the nighttime for the culture. When flue gas of the rice husk incinerator was applied to the microalgae culture using stirred photobioreactor, the dry cell weight was 0.026 g dry biomass/hr$.$l. The results obtained in experiments indicated that the flue gas was effective for microalgae culture without any limitations.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.387-397
• /
• 2021

There is growing interest in the production of microalgae-based, high-value by-products as an emerging green biotechnology. However, a cultivation platform for Oocystis sp. has yet to be established. We therefore examined the effects of bacterial culture additions on the growth and production of valuable compounds of the microalgal strain Oocystis sp. KNUA044, isolated from a locally adapted region in Korea. The strain grew only in the presence of a clear supernatant of Sphingomonas sp. KNU100 culture solution and generated 28.57 mg/l/d of biomass productivity. Protein content (43.9 wt%) was approximately two-fold higher than carbohydrate content (29.4 wt%) and lipid content (13.9 wt%). Oocystis sp. KNUA044 produced the monosaccharide fucose (33 ㎍/mg and 0.94 mg/l/d), reported here for the first time. Fatty acid profiling showed high accumulation (over 60%) of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) compared to saturated (29.4%) and monounsaturated fatty acids (9.9%) under the same culture conditions. Of these PUFAs, the algal strain produced the highest concentration of linolenic acid (C18:3 ω3; 40.2%) in the omega-3 family and generated eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5 ω3; 6.0%), also known as EPA. Based on these results, we suggest that the application of Sphingomonas sp. KNU100 for strain-dependent cultivation of Oocystis sp. KNUA044 holds future promise as a bioprocess capable of increasing algal biomass and high-value bioactive by-products, including fucose and PUFAs such as linolenic acid and EPA.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.393-400
• /
• 2016

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biomass production and dairy wastewater treatment using Chlorella vulgaris. The results indicated that the maximum percentages of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus removed were 85.61%, 80.62%, 29.10%, 85.47%, and 65.96%, respectively, in dairy effluent at 10 d. A maximum of 1.23 g/L dry biomass was obtained in 7 d. The biomass productivity was strongly influenced by the nutrient reduction in the dairy effluent. The biodiesel produced by the C. vulgaris in the dairy effluent was in good agreement with the American Society of Testing and Materials-D6751 and European Standards 14214 standards. Therefore, using dairy effluent for microalgal cultures could be a useful and practical strategy for an advanced, environmentally friendly treatment process.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.553-558
• /
• 2010

Increasing demands on fossil fuel have led to the unprecedented attraction to microalgal biofuel as an alternative energy. In this study, we investigated growth and lipid productions of microalga Nannochloris oculata under various carbon dioxide or nitrogen source concentrations and irradiance conditions. Biomass production of N. oculata was highest under 2% $CO_2$ with 0.3 flow rate (vvm). In addition, biomass productivities were proportional to the concentration of nitrogen source, whereas lipid biosynthesis was suppressed under higher nitrogen concentration (up to 50 mg/L). High irradiation ($160{\sim}180\;{\mu}mol/m^2{\cdot}s$) enhanced growth rate and lipid production of N. oculata.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.91-96
• /
• 2018

There are many eutrophic lakes by point and non-point pollution sources such as in dustrial waste water, domestic raw sewage, and mucks. The eutrophic lakes not only cause algal blooms but also destroy the ecosystem in the lakes due to high nutrient concentrations. The purpose of this study was to improve water quality in eutrophic lakes by cultivating microalgae using photobioreactors (PBRs) with selectively permeable mesh (SPM), supplying nutrients in the lake and inhibiting cell leakage by diffusion and water permeability. Chlorella vulgaris, was cultivated using PBRs with SPM installed in Inkyung Lake located in Inha university, Incheon, Korea. When cultivating C. vulgaris, $8.3g/m^2/day$ of average biomass productivity was obtained at 3 days. Furthermore, concentrations of total nitrogen and phosphorus were reduced by 35.7% and 84.2%, respectively, compared to initial condition and water quality in eutrophic lake was improved to oligotrophic environment. These results suggest that microalgal cultivation using PBRs with SPM in the lake could produce microalgal biomass as well as improve water quality by decreasing nutrient concentrations.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.192-199
• /
• 2012

Microalgal biotechnology has gained prominence because of the ability of microalgae to produce value-added products including biodiesel through photosynthesis. However, carbon and nutrient source is often a limiting factor for microalgal growth leading to higher input costs for sufficient biomass production. Use of municipal wastewater as a low cost alternative to grow microalgae as well as to treat the same has been demonstrated in this study using mini raceway open ponds. Municipal wastewater was collected after primary treatment and microalgae indigenous in the wastewater were encouraged to grow in open raceways under optimum conditions. The mean removal efficiencies of TN, TP, COD-$_{Mn}$, $NH_3$-N after 6 days of retention time was 80.18%, 63.56%, 76.34%, and 96.74% respectively. The 18S rRNA gene analysis of the community revealed the presence of Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus as the dominant microalgae. In addition, 16S rRNA gene analysis demonstrated that Rhodobacter, Luteimonas, Porphyrobacter, Agrobacterium, and Thauera were present along with the microalgae. From these results, it is concluded that microalgae could be used to effectively treat municipal wastewater without aerobic treatment, which incurs additional energy costs. In addition, municipal wastewater shall also serve as an excellent carbon and nitrogen source for microalgal growth. Moreover, the microalgal biomass shall be utilized for commercial purposes.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.14-21
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to inhibit biofouling on a selectively permeable membrane (SPM) and increase biomass productivity in marine photobioreactors (PBRs) for microalgal cultivation by chemical treatment. Surfaces of a SPM, composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), was sulfonated to decrease hydrophobicity through attaching negatively charged sulfonic groups. Reaction time of sulfonation was varied from 0 min to 60 min. As the reaction time increased, the water contact angle value of SPM surface was decreased from $75.5^{\circ}$ to $44.5^{\circ}$, indicating decrease of surface hydrophobicity. Furthermore, the water permeability of sulfonated SPM was increased from $5.42mL/m^2/s$ to $10.58mL/m^2/s$, which reflects higher nutrients transfer rates through the membranes, due to decreased hydrophobicity. When cultivating Tetraselmis sp. using 100-mL floating PBRs with sulfonated SPMs, biomass productivity was improved by 34% compared with the control group (non-reacted SPMs). In addition, scanning electron microscopic observation of SPMs used for cultivation clearly revealed lower degree of cell attachment on the sulfonated SPMs. These results suggest that sulfornation of a PET SPM could improve microalgal biomass productivity by increasing nutrients transfer rates and inhibiting biofouling by algal cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.10
• /
• pp.1460-1471
• /
• 2013

Microalgal biofuel production from wastewater has economic and environmental advantages. This article investigates the lipid production from high chemical oxygen demand (COD) bioethanol wastewater without dilution or additional nutrients, using a newly isolated heterotrophic microalga, Chlorella vulgaris LAM-Q. To enhance lipid accumulation, the combined effects of important operational parameters were studied via response surface methodology. The optimal conditions were found to be temperature of $22.8^{\circ}C$, initial pH of 6.7, and inoculum density of $1.2{\times}10^8cells/ml$. Under these conditions, the lipid productivity reached 195.96 mg/l/d, which was markedly higher than previously reported values in similar systems. According to the fatty acid composition, the obtained lipids were suitable feedstock for biodiesel production. Meanwhile, 61.40% of COD, 51.24% of total nitrogen, and 58.76% of total phosphorus were removed from the bioethanol wastewater during microalgal growth. In addition, 19.17% of the energy contained in the wastewater was transferred to the microalgal biomass in the fermentation process. These findings suggest that C. vulgaris LAM-Q can efficiently produce lipids from high-concentration bioethanol wastewater, and simultaneously performs wastewater treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.32 no.11
• /
• pp.1357-1372
• /
• 2022

Heavy reliance on fossil fuels has been associated with increased climate disasters. As an alternative, microalgae have been proposed as an effective agent for biomass production. Several advantages of microalgae include faster growth, usage of non-arable land, recovery of nutrients from wastewater, efficient CO₂ capture, and high amount of biomolecules that are valuable for humans. Microalgae Chlorella spp. are a large group of eukaryotic, photosynthetic, unicellular microorganisms with high adaptability to environmental variations. Over the past decades, Chlorella has been used for the large-scale production of biomass. In addition, Chlorella has been actively used in various food industries for improving human health because of its antioxidant, antidiabetic, and immunomodulatory functions. However, the major restrictions in microalgal biofuel technology are the cost-consuming cultivation, processing, and lipid extraction processes. Therefore, various trials have been performed to enhance the biomass productivity and the lipid contents of Chlorella cells. This study provides a comprehensive review of lipid enhancement strategies mainly published in the last five years and aimed at regulating carbon sources, nutrients, stresses, and expression of exogenous genes to improve biomass production and lipid synthesis.