Comparison and optimization of different methods for Microcystis aeruginosa's harvesting and the role of zeta potential on its efficiency.

This study has compared the harvesting efficiency of four flocculation methods, namely, induced by pH, FeCl, AlCl and chitosan. No changes were observed on M. aeruginosa cells.

Continuous cultivation of photosynthetic microorganisms: Approaches, applications and future trends.

The possibility of using photosynthetic microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria and microalgae, for converting light and carbon dioxide into valuable biochemical products has raised the need for new cost-efficient processes ensuring a constant product quality. Food, feed, biofuels, cosmetics and pharmaceutics are among the sectors that can profit from the application of photosynthetic microorganisms. Biomass growth in a photobioreactor is a complex process influenced by multiple parameters, such as photosynthetic light capture and attenuation, nutrient uptake, photobioreactor hydrodynamics and gas-liquid mass transfer.

Optimization of CO₂ bio-mitigation by Chlorella vulgaris.

Biofixation of CO2 by microalgae has been recognized as an attractive approach to CO2 mitigation. The main objective of this work was to maximize the rate of CO2 fixation ( [Formula: see text] ) by the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris P12 cultivated photoautotrophically in bubble column photobioreactors under different CO2 concentrations (ranging from 2% to 10%) and aeration rates (ranging from 0.1 to 0.

Light regime characterization in an airlift photobioreactor for production of microalgae with high starch content.

The slow development of microalgal biotechnology is due to the failure in the design of large-scale photobioreactors (PBRs) where light energy is efficiently utilized. In this work, both the quality and the amount of light reaching a given point of the PBR were determined and correlated with cell density, light path length, and PBR geometry. This was made for two different geometries of the downcomer of an airlift PBR using optical fiber technology that allows to obtain information about quantitative and qualitative aspects of light patterns.

BCG (Bacille of Calmette-Guérin) revaccination leads to improved in vitro IFN-gamma response to mycobacterial antigen independent of tuberculin sensitization in Brazilian school-age children.

Tuberculin skin test (TST) response and cytokine production in finger stab-derived whole blood cultures from 136 BCG scar-positive school-age children were evaluated before and after BCG revaccination. Fifty-four percent of the children increased in vitro production of IFN-gamma after revaccination, and this increase was highly significant for previously unresponsive children (P<0.0001).