w a t e r r e s e a r c h 7 1 ( 2 0 1 5 ) 5 5 e6 3
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/watres
Phosphorus removal using a microalgal biofilm in a new biofilm photobioreactor for tertiary wastewater treatment a,*, Martin Trtı´lek b, Toma s Rataj a,1 Katerina Sukacova Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Belidla 986/4a, Brno 603 00, Czech Republic b sov 470, Czech Republic Photon Systems Instruments, 664 24 Dra a
article info
abstract
Article history:
Eutrophication of surface water has been an important environmental issue for nearly half
Received 13 June 2014
a century. High concentrations of phosphorus contribute to the process of eutrophication,
Received in revised form
resulting in the demand for effective and economic methods of phosphorus removal from
4 November 2014
treated water. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity for phosphorus removal
Accepted 29 December 2014
of a microalgal biofilm during different light regimes. The photobioreactor was operated for
Available online 7 January 2015
nine months each year over a two-year period without interruption and without any need of re-inoculation. The algal biofilm was able to remove 97 ± 1% of total phosphorus from
Keywords:
wastewater during 24 h of continuous artificial illumination. The average TP uptake rate in
Microalgal biofilm
our experiments was 0.16 ± 0.008 g m2 d1. Phosphorus removal values ranged from 36 to
Phosphorus removal
41% when the algal biofilm was illuminated by natural light (12 h sunlighte12 h night). The
Wastewater treatment
biomass production rate was 12.21 ± 10 g dry weight m2 d1 in experiments with continuous artificial light and 5.6 ± 1 g dry weight (DW) m2 d1 in experiments with natural light. These results indicate the great potential of microalgal biofilms in the tertiary treatment of wastewater. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1.
Introduction
Degradation of water ecosystems is a major problem in most countries of the world. Industrial and agricultural manufacturing is responsible for a huge production of wastewater, which must be treated to prevent pollution of water ecosystems (Omernik, 1977; Schlesinger, 1991; Vitousek et al., 1997). High concentration of phosphorus starts a process of eutrophication in the water environment. Dodds et al.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ420 511 440 038. ova ). E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Sukac 1 Tel.: þ420 511 440 038. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.12.049 0043-1354/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
(1997) concluded that maintenance of stream water total phosphorus concentration at
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/watres
Phosphorus removal using a microalgal biofilm in a new biofilm photobioreactor for tertiary wastewater treatment a,*, Martin Trtı´lek b, Toma s Rataj a,1 Katerina Sukacova Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Belidla 986/4a, Brno 603 00, Czech Republic b sov 470, Czech Republic Photon Systems Instruments, 664 24 Dra a
article info
abstract
Article history:
Eutrophication of surface water has been an important environmental issue for nearly half
Received 13 June 2014
a century. High concentrations of phosphorus contribute to the process of eutrophication,
Received in revised form
resulting in the demand for effective and economic methods of phosphorus removal from
4 November 2014
treated water. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity for phosphorus removal
Accepted 29 December 2014
of a microalgal biofilm during different light regimes. The photobioreactor was operated for
Available online 7 January 2015
nine months each year over a two-year period without interruption and without any need of re-inoculation. The algal biofilm was able to remove 97 ± 1% of total phosphorus from
Keywords:
wastewater during 24 h of continuous artificial illumination. The average TP uptake rate in
Microalgal biofilm
our experiments was 0.16 ± 0.008 g m2 d1. Phosphorus removal values ranged from 36 to
Phosphorus removal
41% when the algal biofilm was illuminated by natural light (12 h sunlighte12 h night). The
Wastewater treatment
biomass production rate was 12.21 ± 10 g dry weight m2 d1 in experiments with continuous artificial light and 5.6 ± 1 g dry weight (DW) m2 d1 in experiments with natural light. These results indicate the great potential of microalgal biofilms in the tertiary treatment of wastewater. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1.
Introduction
Degradation of water ecosystems is a major problem in most countries of the world. Industrial and agricultural manufacturing is responsible for a huge production of wastewater, which must be treated to prevent pollution of water ecosystems (Omernik, 1977; Schlesinger, 1991; Vitousek et al., 1997). High concentration of phosphorus starts a process of eutrophication in the water environment. Dodds et al.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ420 511 440 038. ova ). E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Sukac 1 Tel.: þ420 511 440 038. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.12.049 0043-1354/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
(1997) concluded that maintenance of stream water total phosphorus concentration at
