Assessing and modeling nitrite inhibition in microalgae-bacteria consortia for wastewater treatment by means of photo-respirometric and chlorophyll fluorescence techniques.

Total nitrite (TNO = HNO + NO) accumulation due to the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was monitored in microalgae-bacteria consortia, and the inhibitory effect of nitrite/free nitrous acid (NO-N/FNA) on microalgae photosynthesis and inhibition mechanism was studied. A culture of Scenedesmus was used to run two sets of batch reactors at different pH and TNO concentrations to evaluate the toxic potential of NO-N and FNA. Photo-respirometric tests showed that NO-N accumulation has a negative impact on net oxygen production rate (OPR).

Global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of a microalgae model for wastewater treatment.

The results of a global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of a microalgae model applied to a Membrane Photobioreactor (MPBR) pilot plant were assessed. The main goals of this study were: (I) to identify the sensitivity factors of the model through the Morris screening method, i.e.

Kinetic modeling of autotrophic microalgae mainline processes for sewage treatment in phosphorus-replete and -deplete culture conditions.

A kinetic model of autotrophic microalgal growth in sewage was developed to determine the biokinetic processes involved, including carbon-, nitrogen- and phosphorus-limited microalgal growth, dependence on light intensity, temperature and pH, light attenuation and gas exchange to the atmosphere. A new feature was the differentiation between two metabolic pathways of phosphorus consumption according to the availability of extracellular phosphorus. Two scenarios were differentiated: phosphorus-replete and -deplete culture conditions.