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Outdoor Cultivation of the Biodiesel Promising Microalga Scenedesmus obliquus in Municipal Wastewater: A Case Study

Received: 23 December 2016    Accepted: 4 January 2017    Published: 24 January 2017
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Abstract

Despite the promising research findings on microalgae as a feedstock for biodiesel, reduction of its production cost is still a challenge. One possible solution to overcome this problem is outdoor biomass production using wastewater as a growth medium. The present study aimed to evaluate the climate key parameters for Scenedesmus obliquus outdoor biomass production during different seasons, as one of the promising microalgae for biodiesel production. S. obliquus was grown continuously in municipal wastewater using bubble column photobioreactors (PBR) made of plastic sleeves arranged vertically in a pilot area of 6m2 with a total working volume of ≈850 L. Biomass productivity showed positive correlation with light intensity and temperature (0.824 and 0.697, respectively). On the other hand, a negative correlation was recorded between biomass productivity and rainfall (-0.520). The average monthly biomass productivity increased from 13.6 to 20.9g dry weight (DW) m-2 d-1 by increasing of light intensity/temperature from 6.8 MJ m-2/14.4°C to 15.8 MJ m-2/29.6°C, respectively. At high rainfall of 14.5 mm d-1, the biomass productivity was reduced to 14.0 g DW m-2 d-1. The monthly biomass productivity ranged between 13.6 up to 20.9g DW m-2 d-1 with annual mean productivity of 17.8±2.8g DW m-2 d-1. Although the used system showed high efficiency for algae cultivation, high light fluctuation in Shenzhen climate requires continuous regulation of biomass concentration in PBR to enhance the biomass productivity.

Published in Science Journal of Energy Engineering (Volume 4, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15
Page(s) 78-84
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Microalgae, Scenedesmus obliquus, Biofuel, Outdoor, Biomass, Photobioreactors, Wastewater

References
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    Abd El-Fatah Abomohra, Wenbiao Jin, Renjie Tu, Song-Fang Han. (2017). Outdoor Cultivation of the Biodiesel Promising Microalga Scenedesmus obliquus in Municipal Wastewater: A Case Study. Science Journal of Energy Engineering, 4(6), 78-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15

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    ACS Style

    Abd El-Fatah Abomohra; Wenbiao Jin; Renjie Tu; Song-Fang Han. Outdoor Cultivation of the Biodiesel Promising Microalga Scenedesmus obliquus in Municipal Wastewater: A Case Study. Sci. J. Energy Eng. 2017, 4(6), 78-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15

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    AMA Style

    Abd El-Fatah Abomohra, Wenbiao Jin, Renjie Tu, Song-Fang Han. Outdoor Cultivation of the Biodiesel Promising Microalga Scenedesmus obliquus in Municipal Wastewater: A Case Study. Sci J Energy Eng. 2017;4(6):78-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15,
      author = {Abd El-Fatah Abomohra and Wenbiao Jin and Renjie Tu and Song-Fang Han},
      title = {Outdoor Cultivation of the Biodiesel Promising Microalga Scenedesmus obliquus in Municipal Wastewater: A Case Study},
      journal = {Science Journal of Energy Engineering},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {78-84},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjee.20160406.15},
      abstract = {Despite the promising research findings on microalgae as a feedstock for biodiesel, reduction of its production cost is still a challenge. One possible solution to overcome this problem is outdoor biomass production using wastewater as a growth medium. The present study aimed to evaluate the climate key parameters for Scenedesmus obliquus outdoor biomass production during different seasons, as one of the promising microalgae for biodiesel production. S. obliquus was grown continuously in municipal wastewater using bubble column photobioreactors (PBR) made of plastic sleeves arranged vertically in a pilot area of 6m2 with a total working volume of ≈850 L. Biomass productivity showed positive correlation with light intensity and temperature (0.824 and 0.697, respectively). On the other hand, a negative correlation was recorded between biomass productivity and rainfall (-0.520). The average monthly biomass productivity increased from 13.6 to 20.9g dry weight (DW) m-2 d-1 by increasing of light intensity/temperature from 6.8 MJ m-2/14.4°C to 15.8 MJ m-2/29.6°C, respectively. At high rainfall of 14.5 mm d-1, the biomass productivity was reduced to 14.0 g DW m-2 d-1. The monthly biomass productivity ranged between 13.6 up to 20.9g DW m-2 d-1 with annual mean productivity of 17.8±2.8g DW m-2 d-1. Although the used system showed high efficiency for algae cultivation, high light fluctuation in Shenzhen climate requires continuous regulation of biomass concentration in PBR to enhance the biomass productivity.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Outdoor Cultivation of the Biodiesel Promising Microalga Scenedesmus obliquus in Municipal Wastewater: A Case Study
    AU  - Abd El-Fatah Abomohra
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjee.20160406.15
    AB  - Despite the promising research findings on microalgae as a feedstock for biodiesel, reduction of its production cost is still a challenge. One possible solution to overcome this problem is outdoor biomass production using wastewater as a growth medium. The present study aimed to evaluate the climate key parameters for Scenedesmus obliquus outdoor biomass production during different seasons, as one of the promising microalgae for biodiesel production. S. obliquus was grown continuously in municipal wastewater using bubble column photobioreactors (PBR) made of plastic sleeves arranged vertically in a pilot area of 6m2 with a total working volume of ≈850 L. Biomass productivity showed positive correlation with light intensity and temperature (0.824 and 0.697, respectively). On the other hand, a negative correlation was recorded between biomass productivity and rainfall (-0.520). The average monthly biomass productivity increased from 13.6 to 20.9g dry weight (DW) m-2 d-1 by increasing of light intensity/temperature from 6.8 MJ m-2/14.4°C to 15.8 MJ m-2/29.6°C, respectively. At high rainfall of 14.5 mm d-1, the biomass productivity was reduced to 14.0 g DW m-2 d-1. The monthly biomass productivity ranged between 13.6 up to 20.9g DW m-2 d-1 with annual mean productivity of 17.8±2.8g DW m-2 d-1. Although the used system showed high efficiency for algae cultivation, high light fluctuation in Shenzhen climate requires continuous regulation of biomass concentration in PBR to enhance the biomass productivity.
    VL  - 4
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Author Information
  • School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China; Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

  • School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China

  • School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China

  • School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China

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