Continuous microalgae cultivation for wastewater treatment - Development of a process strategy during day and night.

Conventional wastewater treatment (WWT) is not able to recycle nutrients from the wastewater (WW) directly. Microalgae integrate the valuable nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus within their biomass very efficiently, making them predestined for an application in WWT. Nevertheless, microalgae-based processes are driven by natural sunlight as energy source, making a continuous process mode during day and night difficult.

Exploring advanced phycoremediation strategies for resource recovery from secondary wastewater using a large scale photobioreactor.

This study aimed to investigate the operation of a 1000L microalgae-based membrane photobioreactor system in a greenhouse for continuous secondary wastewater treatment using Desmodesmus sp., a green microalgae strain originally isolated from a German sewage plant. The research spanned both summer and winter seasons, seeking to comprehend key trends and optimization strategies.

Process Engineering of Biopharmaceutical Production in Moss Bioreactors Model-Based Description and Evaluation of Phytohormone Impact.

The moss Physcomitrella is an interesting production host for recombinant biopharmaceuticals. Here we produced MFHR1, a synthetic complement regulator which has been proposed for the treatment of diseases associated to the complement system as part of human innate immunity. We studied the impact of different operation modes for the production process in 5 L stirred-tank photobioreactors.

The effect of cell disruption on the extraction of oil and protein from concentrated microalgae slurries.

Novel cell-disruption combinations (autolytic incubation and hypotonic osmotic shock combined with HPH or pH12) were used to investigate the fundamental mass transfer of lipids and proteins from Nannochloropsis slurries (140 mg biomass/g slurry). Since neutral lipids exist as cytosolic globules, their mass transfer was directly dependent on disintegration of cell walls. Complete recovery was obtained with complete physical disruption.

Characterization of an aerated submerged hollow fiber ultrafiltration device for efficient microalgae harvesting.

The present work characterizes a submerged aerated hollow fiber polyvinylidene fluorid (PVDF) membrane (0.03 μm) device () designed for the ultrafiltration (UF) of microalgae suspensions. Commercial baker's yeast served as model suspension to investigate the influence of the aeration rate of the hollow fibers on the critical flux (CF, ) for different cell concentrations.

Advanced near-zero waste treatment of food processing wastewater with water, carbon, and nutrient recovery.

A near-zero waste treatment system for food processing wastewater was developed and studied. The wastewater was treated using an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR), polished using an outdoor photobioreactor for microalgae cultivation (three species were studied), and excess sludge was treated using hydrothermal carbonization. The study was conducted under arid climate conditions for one year (four seasons).

Effects of phytase-supplemented fermentation and household processing on the nutritional quality of L. seeds.

Grass pea ( L.) is commonly consumed in cooked, fermented, and roasted forms in Ethiopia. However, the impacts of household processing practices on its nutrients, antinutrients, and toxic compounds have not been adequately studied.

Microalgal kinetics - a guideline for photobioreactor design and process development.

Kinetics generally describes bio-(chemical) reaction rates in dependence on substrate concentrations. Kinetics for microalgae is often adapted from heterotrophs and lacks mechanistic foundation, e.g.

Characterization and utilization of hydrothermal carbonization aqueous phase as nutrient source for microalgal growth.

This study investigated the feasibility of using hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) aqueous phase as an alternative nutrient source for microalgae cultivation, and the microalgae cultivation capability to treat this complex medium to a level enabling its reuse or discharge. HTC of activated sludge was optimized in terms of the energy content of the solid hydrochar and the nutrient content of the HTC aqueous phase adequate for microalgal growth. Growth rates of Coelastrella sp.

Photoautotrophically Grown Shows Genotoxic Potential but No Apoptotic Effect in Epithelial Cells.

This study investigated the effect of () on genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis in Caco-2 and HT-29 cells. significantly induced DNA damage in both cell lines at a concentration of 200 μg dry matter/mL (comet tail intensity CTI: 24.6 ± 4.

Reduction of β-ODAP and IP contents in Lathyrus sativus L. seed by high hydrostatic pressure.

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) seeds contain an endogenous neurotoxic non-proteinogenic amino acid, β-N-oxalyl-l-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP), a major limiting factor-for their human consumption. Furthermore, phytate (IP), a well-known antinutrient is present in concentration capable of hindering bioavailability of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and other micronutrients from the seeds.

A Lipophilic Fucoxanthin-Rich Extract Ameliorates Effects of Diet-Induced Obesity in C57BL/6J Mice.

() comprise several lipophilic constituents with proposed anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties. We investigated the effect of an ethanolic extract (PTE) on energy metabolism in obesity-prone mice fed a high fat diet (HFD). Six- to eight-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were switched to HFD and, at the same time, received orally placebo or PTE (100 mg or 300 mg/kg body weight/day).

Effect of sonication on bioaccessibility and cellular uptake of carotenoids from preparations of photoautotrophic Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

With regard to its cost-effective cultivation and the composition of high-value nutrients, the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum (P. tricornutum) attracts interest for the use in human nutrition. Besides a number of important nutrients, it is rich in carotenoids.

Effect of Traditional Household Processes on Iron, Zinc and Copper Bioaccessibility in Black Bean ( L.).

Micronutrient deficiencies are a major public health problem. Beans are an important plant-based source of iron, zinc and copper, but their absorption is reduced in the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytates, polyphenols and tannins. Soaking and discarding the soaking water before cooking is unanimously recommended, but this can result in mineral loss.

Highly efficient methane generation from untreated microalgae biomass.

Background: The fact that microalgae perform very efficiently photosynthetic conversion of sunlight into chemical energy has moved them into the focus of regenerative fuel research. Especially, biogas generation via anaerobic digestion is economically attractive due to the comparably simple apparative process technology and the theoretical possibility of converting the entire algal biomass to biogas/methane. In the last 60 years, intensive research on biogas production from microalgae biomass has revealed the microalgae as a rather challenging substrate for anaerobic digestion due to its high cell wall recalcitrance and unfavorable protein content, which requires additional pretreatment and co-fermentation strategies for sufficient fermentation.

Biogenic calcite particles from microalgae-Coccoliths as a potential raw material.

Synthetic calcite (CaCO) particles are found in a broad range of applications. The geometry of particles produced from limestone or precipitation are versatile but limited to basic shapes. The microalga produces micro-structured calcite platelets, called coccoliths.

Electrofiltration improves dead-end filtration of hyaluronic acid and presents an alternative downstream processing step that overcomes technological challenges of conventional methods.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) dispersion obtained from the bacteria was concentrated by electrofiltration. In the conventional downstream processing of HA, extraction and precipitation lead to increase in environmental issues, structural changes, and time and energy related costs. Using electrofiltration as an alternative technology delivers solutions to these limitations.

Fate of HS during the cultivation of Chlorella sp. deployed for biogas upgrading.

The HS may play a key role in the sulfur cycle among the biogas production by the anaerobic digestion of wastes and the biogas upgrading by a microalgae based technology. The biogas is upgraded by contacting with slightly alkaline aqueous microalgae culture, then CO and HS are absorbed. The dissolved HS could limit or inhibit the microalgae growth.

Pressure reduction affects growth and morphology of .

Cellular perception of pressure is a largely unknown field in microalgae research although it should be addressed for optimization of a photobioreactor design regarding typically occurring pressure cycles. Also for the purpose of using microalgae as basic modules for material cycles in controlled ecological life support systems, the absence of pressure in outer space or the low absolute pressures on other planets is an abiotic factor that needs to be considered for design of integrated microalgae-based modules. The aim of this work is to study the effects of lowered pressure and pressure changes on photosynthesis as well as morphology.

Mono- and dichromatic LED illumination leads to enhanced growth and energy conversion for high-efficiency cultivation of microalgae for application in space.

Illumination with red and blue photons is known to be efficient for cultivation of higher plants. For microalgae cultivation, illumination with specific wavelengths rather than full spectrum illumination can be an alternative where there is a lack of knowledge about achievable biomass yields. This study deals with the usage of color LED illumination to cultivate microalgae integrated into closed life support systems for outer space.

Bioaccessibility of carotenoids from Chlorella vulgaris and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Microalgae can contribute to a balanced diet because of their composition. Beside numerous essential nutrients, carotenoids are in the focus for food applications. The bioavailability of carotenoids from photoautotrophic-cultivated Chlorella vulgaris (C.

Photobioreactors in Life Support Systems.

Life support systems for long-term space missions or extraterrestrial installations have to fulfill major functions such as purification of water and regeneration of atmosphere as well as the generation of food and energy. For almost 60 years ideas for biological life support systems have been collected and various concepts have been developed and tested. Microalgae as photosynthetic organisms have played a major role in most of these concepts.

Investigating the dynamics of recombinant protein secretion from a microalgal host.

Production of recombinant proteins with microalgae represents an alternative platform over plant- or bacterial-based expression systems for certain target proteins. Secretion of recombinant proteins allows accumulation of the target product physically separate from the valuable algal biomass. To date, there has been little investigation into the dynamics of recombinant protein secretion from microalgal hosts-the culture parameters that encourage secreted product accumulation and stability, while encouraging biomass production.

Biorefinery of microalgae - opportunities and constraints for different production scenarios.

In order to design economically feasible production processes it is necessary, as part of the biorefinery concept, to valorize all constituents of the microalgal biomass. Such an approach requires appropriate biorefinery side-process strategies to be adapted to production of the primary product. These strategies are particularly valid for microalgae, since the composition and amount of residual biomass can vary significantly depending on cell stoichiometry and cultivation techniques.