Nordic cyanobacterial and algal lipids: Triacylglycerol accumulation, chemotaxonomy and bioindustrial potential.

The ability to capture and convert sunlight, water and nutrients into useful compounds make photosynthetic microbes ideal candidates for the bio-industrial factories of the future. However, the suitability of isolates from temperate regions to grow under Nordic conditions is questionable. In this work, we explore the chemotaxonomy of Nordic strains of cyanobacteria and one green alga and evaluate their potential as raw materials for the production of lipid-based bio-industrial compounds.

Wastewater treatment by microalgae.

The growth of the world's population increases the demand for fresh water, food, energy, and technology, which in turn leads to increasing amount of wastewater, produced both by domestic and industrial sources. These different wastewaters contain a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds which can cause tremendous environmental problems if released untreated. Traditional treatment systems are usually expensive, energy demanding and are often still incapable of solving all challenges presented by the produced wastewaters.

Cultivating and harvesting of marine alga Nannochloropsis oculata in local municipal wastewater for biodiesel.

The feasibility of using the mixture of seawater and municipal wastewater; (1) the wastewater before activated sludge tank, just after primary settling (BAS) and (2) the wastewater after activated sludge tank, just before addition of polymer flocculants (AAS); as culture medium for the cultivation of marine microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata was investigated. 10% BAS, 20% BAS and 10% AAS, 20% AAS, 50% AAS, 70% AAS, 100% AAS effluent loadings were well adapted to used wastewater. Sufficient dry weights obtained (345-406 mg L(-1)) with growth rates 0.

Efficient harvesting of Chaetoceros calcitrans for biodiesel production.

Harvesting is one of the key challenges to determine the feasibility of producing biodiesel from algae. This paper presents experimental results for a cost-effective system to harvest Chaetoceros calcitrans, using natural sedimentation, flocculation, and inducing pH. No efficient sedimentation of microalgal cells was observed only by gravity.

Potential pre-concentration methods for Nannochloropsis gaditana and a comparative study of pre-concentrated sample properties.

We compared potential pre-concentration techniques for Nannochloropsis gaditana (Nng) by testing natural sedimentation; flocculation with aluminium sulphate, polyaluminium chloride and chitosan; and induced pH. Promising flocculation efficiencies and concentration factors were obtained in a short time with alkalinity-induced flocculation at an adjusted pH of 9.7 and with chitosan at an adjusted pH of 9.