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Optimum lipid production using agro-industrial wastewater treated microalgae as biofuel substrate

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Abstract

Abundant wastewater discharges from palm oil industries in tropical nations being a valuable resource of biodiesel need proper exploration. Research hinted that such wastewater as economical nutrient source or substrate can support the cultivation of microalgae. In this experiment, we have tested the growth and lipid production of five different microalgal strains in palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME as a biofuel substrate is demonstrated to be lucrative for microalgae-assisted lipids production. POME is rich in macro- and micronutrients can be used as a growth medium for algal growth in order to reduce the growth medium cost and environmental pollutions. Among the five microalgal strains tested, Chlorella sorokiniana revealed optimum biomass and lipid production. The productivity was evaluated in terms of chlorophyll content, growth rate, biomass, and lipid content, which discerned to be 0.099/day, 8.0 mg/L day and 2.68 mg/mg cell dry weight (CDW). Furthermore, in this study, an optimization study was carried out to enhance the microalgae to produce high lipid content using carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and different light/dark periods. The presence of nitrogen combined glucose (with a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio 100:7) as an alternative source to carbon displayed higher lipid production of 2.68 (mg/mg CDW) by C. sorokiniana. This study confirms that 8:16 h light/dark condition at C:TN ratio of 100:7 supported to produce high lipid content of 17 mg lipid/mg CDW. The above results revealed that POME could be a suitable growth media for the alga C. sorokiniana to improve the maximum lipid yield for biofuels production.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge IPASA and CRC centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) for providing adequate facilities to conduct this research and for their financial support through the Research University Grant, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) for Science Fund Grant No. 06-01-06- SF1434. Authors are also grateful to UTM Research Management Centre (RMC) for PAS grants vote Q.J130000.2709.01K40 and Q.J130000.2709.01K41, and GUP grants vote Q.J130000.2609.11J04, 12H42, and Q.J130000.2609.10J8 and Flagship Project on “Algae as energy securing, supplement reserve, and formulating carbon sequestration for waste management from POME” with Vot No: 02G75. The authors would also like to acknowledge the support from Dr. Ponraj Mohanadoss and Tayebeh Khademi in the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Security (IPASA), Research Institute for Sustainable Environment, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Hesam Kamyab, Mohd Fadhil Md Din, Veeramuthu Ashokkumar & Ali asghar Bavafa

  2. High-Speed Reacting Flow Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Seyed Ehsan Hosseini

  3. Department of Physics (AOMRG), Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Sib Krishna Ghoshal

  4. Construction Research Center (CRC), Institute for Smart Infrastructure and Innovation Construction (ISIIC), Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Ali Keyvanfar, Arezou Shafaghat & Muhd Zaimi Abd Majid

  5. Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Chew Tin Lee

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  1. Hesam Kamyab
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  2. Mohd Fadhil Md Din
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  3. Seyed Ehsan Hosseini
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Correspondence to Muhd Zaimi Abd Majid.

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Kamyab, H., Din, M.F.M., Hosseini, S.E. et al. Optimum lipid production using agro-industrial wastewater treated microalgae as biofuel substrate. Clean Techn Environ Policy 18, 2513–2523 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1212-1

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