Nutrients recovery from dairy wastewater by Chlorella vulgaris and comparison of the lipid's composition with various chlorella strains for biodiesel production

PLoS One. 2024 Apr 10;19(4):e0297464. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297464. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Microalgae biomass is regarded as a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. The biomass lipid content and fatty acids composition are among the main selective criteria when screening microalgae strains for biodiesel production. In this study, three strains of Chlorella microalgae (C. kessleri, C. sorokiniana, C. vulgaris) were cultivated nutrient media with different nitrogen contents, and on a medium with the addition of dairy wastewater. Moreover, microalgae grown on dairy wastewater allowed the removal of azote and phosphorous. The removal efficiency of 90%, 53% and 95% of ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen and phosphate ions, respectively, were reached. The efficiency of wastewater treatment from inorganic carbon was 55%, while the maximum growth of biomass was achieved. All four samples of microalgae had a similar fatty acid profile. Palmitic acid (C16:0) was the most abundant saturated fatty acid (SFA), and is suitable for the production of biodiesel. The main unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) present in the samples were oleic acid (C18:1 n9); linoleic acid (C18:2 n6) and alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3 n3), which belong to omega-9, omega-6, omega-3, respectively.

MeSH terms

  • Biofuels / analysis
  • Biomass
  • Chlorella vulgaris*
  • Fatty Acids
  • Microalgae*
  • Nitrogen
  • Nutrients
  • Wastewater

Substances

  • Wastewater
  • Biofuels
  • Fatty Acids
  • Nitrogen

Grants and funding

The research was carried out within the framework of the project "Technological challenges and socio-economic transformation in the conditions of energy transitions". Agreement number No. 075-15-2022-1136. Funder: Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.