• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.328-336
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• 1999

A green microalga, Chlorella vulgaris UTX 259, was cultivated in a bench-scale raceway pond. During the culture, 15%(v/v) $CO_2$ was supplied and industrial wastewater discharged from a steel-making plant was used as a culture medium. In a small scale culture bottle, the microalga grew up to 1.8 g $dm^{-3}$ of cell concentration and ammonia was completely removed from the wastewater with an yield coefficient of 25.7 g dry cell weight $g^{-1}\;NH_3-N$. During the bottle-culture, microalga was dominant over heterotrophic microorganisms in the culture medium. Therefore, the amount of carbon dioxide fixation could be estimated from the change of dry cell weight. In a semi-continuous operation of raceway pond with intermittent lighting (12 h light and 12 h dark), increase of dilution rate resulted in increase of the ammonia removal rate as well as the $CO_2$ fixation rate but the ammonia removal efficiency decreased. Ammonia was not completely removed from the medium (wastewater) of raceway pond which was operated in a batch mode under a light intensity up to 20 klux. The incomplete removal of ammonia was believed due to insufficient light supply. A mathematical model, capable of predicting experimental data, was developed in order to simulate the performance of the raceway pond under the light intensity of sun during a bright daytime. Simulation results showed that the rates of $CO_2$ fixation and ammonia removal could be enhanced by increasing light intensity. According to the simulation, 80 mg $dm^{-3}$ of ammonia in the medium could be completely removed if the light intensity was over 60 klux with a continuous lighting. Under the optimal operating condition determined by the simulation, the rates of carbon dioxide fixation and ammonia removal in the outdoor operation of raceway pond were estimated as high as $24.7 g m^{-2} day^{-1}$ and $0.52 g NH_3-N m^{-2} day^{-1}$, respectively.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the cultivation possibility using Hydrodictyon reticulatum in a continuous raceway pond as a tertiary sewage treatment plant. The cultivation possibility was evaluated by varying the light quantity, wavelength, and hydraulic retention time (HRT). Experimental results showed that the growth rates of algae and the removal efficiencies of nutrients increased as the light quantity increased, and the maximum photosynthetic rate was maintained at $100{\mu}mol/m^2{\cdot}s$ or higher. When wavelength was varied, nutrient removal efficiency and growth rate increased in the following order: green light, red light, white light, and blue light. The nutrient removal efficiencies and algae productivity in HRT 4 d were better than in HRT 8 d. We conclude that if Hydrodictyon reticulatum is cultivated in a raceway pond and used as a tertiary treatment facility in a sewage treatment plant, nutrients can be effectively removed, and production costs can be reduced.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.207-214
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• 2013

A concerted effort to develop alternative forms of energy is underway due to fossil fuel shortages and its deleterious effects. Recently, bioenergy from microalgae has gained prominence and the use of municipal wastewater as a low cost alternative for a nutrient source has significant advantages. In this study, we have employed municipal wastewater directly after primary treatment (primary settling basin) in a small scale raceway pond (SSRP) for microalgal growth. Indigenous microalgae in the wastewater were encouraged to grow in the SSRP under optimal conditions. The mean removal efficiencies of TN, TP, and $NH_3-N$ after 6 days were 77.77%, 63.55%, and 89.02%, respectively. The average lipid content of the microalgae was 19.51% of dry cell weight, and linolenate and linoleate (18:n) were the predominant fatty acids. The 18S rRNA gene analysis and microscopic observations of the indigenous microalgae community revealed the presence of Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus as the dominant microalgae. These results indicate that untreated municipal wastewater, serving as an excellent nitrogen and phosphate source for microalgal growth, could be treated using microalgae in open raceway ponds. Moreover, microalgal biomass could be further profitable by the extraction of biodiesel.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.27-34
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• 2023

In this study, microalgal oil was extracted from Nannochloropsis oceanica cultured in an open raceway pond and converted into biodiesel using a solid acid catalyst. Microalgal oil was extracted from two types of microalgae with and without nitrogen starvation using the KOH-solvent extraction method and the fatty acid content and oil extraction yield from each microalgae were compared. The fatty acid content of N. oceanica was 184.8 mg/g cell under basic conditions, and the oil content increased to 340.1 mg/g under nitrogen starvation conditions. Oil extraction yields were 90.8 and 95.4% in the first extraction, and increased to 97.5 and 98.8% after the second extraction. Microalgal oil extracted by KOH-solvent extraction was yellow in color and had reduced viscosity due to chlorophyll removal. In biodiesel conversion using the catalyst SO₄^2-/HZSM-5, solvent-extracted oil showed a FAME content of 4.8%, while KOH-solvent-extracted oil showed a FAME content of 90.4%. Solid acid catalyst application has been made easier by removal of chlorophyll from microalgal oil. The FAME content increased to 96.6% upon distillation, and the oxidation stability increased to 11.07 h with addition of rapeseed biodiesel and 1,000 ppm butylated hydroxyanisole.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 2014

Due to the rapid energy consumption and fossil fuel abundance reduction, the world is progressively in need of alternative and renewable energy sources such as biodiesel. Biodiesel from microalgae offers high hopes to the scientific world for its potential as well as its non-competition with arable lands. Taking consideration to reduce the cost of production as well as to attain twin environmental goals of treatment and use of animal waste material the microalgal cultivation using piggery manure has been tested in this study. Unialgal strains such as Chlorella sp. JK2, Scenedesmus sp. JK10, and an indigenous mixed microalgal culture CSS were cultured for 20 days in diluted piggery manure using Small Scale Raceway Pond (SSRP). Biomass production and lipid productivity of CSS were $1.19{\pm}0.09gL^{-1}$, $12.44{\pm}0.38mgL^{-1}day^{-1}$, respectively and almost twice that of unialgal strains. Also, total nitrogen and total phosphorus removal efficiencies of CSS was 93.6% and 98.5% respectively and 30% higher removal efficiency compared to the use of unialgal strains. These results indicate that the piggery manure can provide microalgae necessary nitrogen and phosphorus for growth thereby effectively treating the manure. In addition, overall cost of microalgal cultivation and subsequently biodiesel production would be significantly reduced.

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

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2014

The world is in need of sustainable and eco-friendly energy sources such as microalgal biodiesel due to global warming and fossil fuel shortages. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of liquid fertilizer produced from swine manure and agriculture grade solid fertilizers as nutrient sources for microalgal biomass production. Mixed culture (Chlorella spp., Scenedesmus spp., Stigeoclonium spp.; CSS) was cultivated for 28 days in Small Scale Raceway Pond (SSRP) using various nutrient sources (swine manure liquid fertilizer, agricultural solid fertilizer, and mixture of these two fertilizers). Biomass and lipid productivity of fertilizer mixture were the highest at 0.8 g/L and 5.8 mg/L/day, respectively. These results indicate that the fertilizer mixture can provide microalgae necessary nutrient sources for stable biodiesel production and biomass growth. In addition, overall cost of microalgal cultivation and subsequently biodiesel production would be significantly reduced.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.378-386
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• 2022

Scenedesmus obliquus ABC-009 is a microalgal strain that accumulates large amounts of lutein, particularly when subjected to growth-limiting conditions. Here, the performance of this strain was evaluated for the simultaneous production of lutein and biofuels under three different modes of cultivation - photoautotrophic mode using BG-11 medium with air or 2% CO₂ and heterotrophic mode using YM medium. While it was found that the highest fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) level and lutein content per biomass (%) were achieved in BG-11 medium with CO₂ and air, respectively, heterotrophic cultivation resulted in much higher biomass productivity. While the cell concentrations of the cultures grown under BG-11 and CO₂ were largely similar to those grown in YM medium, the disparity in the biomass yield was largely attributed to the larger cell volume in heterotrophically cultivated cells. Post-cultivation light treatment was found to further enhance the biomass productivity in all three cases and lutein content in heterotrophic conditions. Consequently, the maximum biomass (757.14 ± 20.20 mg/l/d), FAME (92.78 ± 0.08 mg/l/d), and lutein (1.006 ± 0.23 mg/l/d) productivities were obtained under heterotrophic cultivation. Next, large-scale lutein production using microalgae was demonstrated using a 1-ton open raceway pond cultivation system and a low-cost fertilizer (Eco-Sol). The overall biomass yields were similar in both media, while slightly higher lutein content was obtained using the fertilizer owing to the higher nitrogen content.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1566-1573
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• 2014

Although most algae cultivation systems are operated in suspended culture, an attached growth system can offer several advantages over suspended systems. Algal cultivation becomes light-limited as the microalgal concentration increases in the suspended system; on the other hand, sunlight penetrates deeper and stronger in attached systems owing to the more transparent water. Such higher availability of sunlight makes it possible to operate a raceway pond deeper than usual, resulting in a higher areal productivity. The attached system achieved 2.8-times higher biomass productivity and total lipid productivity of $9.1g\;m^{-2}day^{-1}$ and $1.9g\;m^{-2}day^{-1}$, respectively, than the suspended system. Biomass productivity can be further increased by optimization of the culture conditions. Moreover, algal biomass harvesting and dewatering were made simpler and cheaper in attached systems, because mesh-type substrates with attached microalgae were easily removed from the culture and the remaining treated wastewater could be discharged directly. When the algal biomass was dewatered using natural sunlight, the palmitic acid (C16:0) content increased by 16% compared with the freeze-drying method. There was no great difference in other fatty acid composition. Therefore, the attached system for algal cultivation is a promising cultivation system for mass biodiesel production.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.477-482
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• 1998

In the aquaculture industry, a photobioreactor (Pbr) with high productivity is a prerequisite for mass production of Chlorella sp., a feeding fry for Rotifer (Brachinous plicatilis). To enhance the productivity of Chlorella sp., model Pbrs such as Cylinder type, Spherical surface type, Half-spherical surface type, Plate type, Raceway pond type and Water-wheel type Pbr with different values of surface area exposed to light/culture volume (S/V) were manufactured, and the maximum specific growth rate (${\mu}_{max}$) and productivity of Chlorella vulgaris 211-11b at $25^{\circ}C$, pH 7.0 and 12,000 lux were compared each other. The ${\mu}_{max}$ and productivity were not proportional to S/V. Among the 6 model Pbrs, Half-spherical surface type Pbr showed the highest ${\mu}_{max}$ and productivity as 2.206 ($day^{-1}$) and 0.247($g^{{\ell}-1}day^{-1}$).