Advanced treatment of residual nitrogen from biologically treated coke effluent by a microalga-mediated process using volatile fatty acids (VFAs) under stepwise mixotrophic conditions

Byung Gon Ryu, Woong Kim, Sung Woon Heo, Donghyun Kim, Gang Guk Choi, Ji Won Yang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

This work describes the development of a microalga-mediated process for simultaneous removal of residual ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and production of lipids from biologically treated coke effluent. Four species of green algae were tested using a sequential mixotrophic process. In the first phase-CO2-supplied mixotrophic condition-all microalgae assimilated NH4+-N with no evident inhibition. In second phase-volatile fatty acids (VFAs)-supplied mixotrophic condition-removal rates of NH4+-N and biomass significantly increased. Among the microalgae used, Arctic Chlorella sp. ArM0029B had the highest rate of NH4+-N removal (0.97mg/L/h) and fatty acid production (24.9mg/L/d) which were 3.6- and 2.1-fold higher than those observed under the CO2-supplied mixotrophic condition. Redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that acetate and butyrate were decisive factors for increasing NH4+-N removal and fatty acid production. These results demonstrate that microalgae can be used in a sequential process for treatment of residual nitrogen after initial treatment of activated sludge.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)488-495
Number of pages8
JournalBioresource Technology
Volume191
DOIs
StatePublished - 31 Mar 2015

Keywords

  • Coke wastewater
  • Microalgae
  • Mixotrophic conditions
  • Nitrogen removal
  • Volatile fatty acid (VFA)

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