Water quality, biomass and extracellular polymeric substances in an integrated algae pond system
- Authors: Jimoh, Taobat Adekilekun
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Water -- Purification , Sewage -- Purification -- Anaerobic treatment , Sewage lagoons , Sewage disposal plants , ASPAM model (Acid mine drainage) , Integrated algae pond systems (IAPS)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/57307 , vital:26871
- Description: Integrated algae pond systems (IAPS) combine the use of anaerobic and aerobic bioprocesses to effect wastewater treatment. Although, IAPS as a technology process offers many advantages including efficient and simultaneous N and P removal, no requirement for additional chemicals, O2 generation, CO2 mitigation, and a biomass with potential for valorization, a lack of technological advancement and the need for large land area, has limited the reach of this technology at industrial scale. In mitigation, peroxonation was introduced as a tertiary treatment unit and its effect on COD and TSS of IAPS treated water investigated. An effort was made to characterize the soluble but persistent COD in IAPS treated water and, productivity of the HRAOP mixed liquor was investigated to gain insight into the potential use of this biomass. Results show that peroxone treatment effectively reduced COD, TSS, and nutrient load of IAPS water without any significant impact on land area requirement. Indeed, summary data describing the effect of peroxone on quality of IAPS-treated water confirmed that it complies with the general limit values for either irrigation or discharge into a water resource that is not a listed water resource for volumes up to 2 ML of treated wastewater on any given day. Extraction followed by FT-IR spectroscopy was used to confirm albeit tentatively, the identity of the soluble but persistent COD in IAPS treated water as MaB-floc EPS. Results show that MaB-flocs from HRAOPs are assemblages of microorganisms produced as discrete aggregates as a result of microbial EPS production. A relationship between photosynthesis and EPS production was established by quantification of the EPS following exposure of MaB-flocs to either continuous light or darkness. Several novel strains of bacteria were isolated from HRAOP mixed liquor and 16S ribosomal genomic sequence analysis resulted in the molecular characterization of Planococcus maitriensis strain ECCN 45b. This is the first report of Planococcus maitriensis from a wastewater treatment process. Productivity and change in MaB-flocs concentration, measured as mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) between morning and evening were monitored and revealed that MLSS is composed of microalgae and bacteria but not fungi. Concentration varied from 77 mg L-1 in September (winter) to 285 mg L-1 in November (spring); pond productivity increased from 5.8 g m-2 d-1 (winter) to 21.5 g m-2 d-1 (spring); and, irrespective of MLSS concentration in late afternoon, approximately 39% was lost overnight, which presumably occurred due to passive removal by the algae settling pond. The outcomes of this research are discussed in terms of the quality of treated water, and the further development of IAPS as a platform technology for establishing a biorefinery within the wastewater treatment sector.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Towards a sustainable bioprocess for the remediation of acid mine drainage
- Authors: Mambo, Mutsa Prudence
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Acid mine drainage , Algae culture , Reduction (Chemistry) , Hydrolysis , ASPAM model (Acid mine drainage) , Water -- Purification
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006167 , Acid mine drainage , Algae culture , Reduction (Chemistry) , Hydrolysis , ASPAM model (Acid mine drainage) , Water -- Purification
- Description: Acid mine drainage is of growing concern for both developing and developed economies. Thus there is increasing pressure to develop alternative remediation strategies. Biological sulphidogenic mechanisms have long since been studied but, very few have been implemented on a large scale. Limitations are due to the inability to acquire a suitable, low cost, environmentally friendly, renewable carbon source. The present study investigated the use of an algae biomass generated by the HRAOP of an IAPS as a carbon source for the EBRU 00AB/06 SRB consortium. The algae biomass and consortium were utilized together to remediate simulated AMD. Remediation involved decreasing the sulphate and metal concentrations in solution and decreasing the acidity of a simulated AMD. Experiments were carried out to investigate the capability of the EBRU 00AB/06 SRB consortium for sulphate reduction and sulphide generation. The consortium produced colonies when grown under anaerobic conditions in Petri dishes containing modified lactate SRB medium. The SRB consortium reduced the sulphate concentration of modified Postgates medium B and generated sulphide. Further analysis of the EBRU 00AB/06 SRB consortium revealed that the consortium was minimally impacted at pH 5 and by sulphate and iron at 3 g.L-1 and 0.5 g.L-1 respectively. The EBRU 00AB/06 SRB consortium was exposed to Actinomycin D and Ethidium Bromide to determine whether transcription and translation of proteins was required for sulphate reduction. Results indicated that sulphide generation and sulphate reduction were inducible. Analysis of the algae biomass used in this study revealed the empirical formula C1.0H1.91N0.084S0.003O0.36 indicating a carbon source rich in the nutrients required to sustain microbial development. Light microscopy revealed that algae cell walls and in particular those of Pediastrum were susceptible to acid hydrolysis. Dinitrosalicylic acid, Nile red, Bradford and Ninhydrin assays were used to determine the reducing sugar, lipid, protein and amino acid content respectively, of the mixed algae biomass. Results showed that upon exposure of the biomass to simulated AMD at pH 1 and pH 3, the concentration of reducing sugars and amino acids in solution increased. Whereas levels of lipids remained unchanged while the protein concentration decreased, indicating that, upon exposure of algae biomass to AMD, simulated or otherwise, cells ruptured, proteins were hydrolyzed and polysaccharides were broken down to sugars which are immediately available for SRB utilization. Exposure of biomass to simulated AMD revealed further that the presence of algae biomass increased the pH of simulated AMD (pH 3) to pH 7.67 after 4 d. Likewise, the pH of simulated AMD at 1 increased to 1.77 after 2 d while pH of the neutral control increased to 8.1 after 4 d. A direct comparison between lactate and algae biomass revealed 94 % sulphate removal after 23 d in the presence of algae biomass while 82 % sulphate removal was measured in the presence of lactate. Thus the EBRU 00AB/06 SRB consortium successfully utilized algae biomass for sulphate reduction and sulphide generation. In another experiment to establish if the consortium could remediate simulated AMD (pH 5) containing 0.5 g.L-1 iron and 3 g.L-1 sulphate while utilizing an algae biomass as the carbon source no residual iron was detected after 14 d and by day 23, an 89.07 % reduction in sulphate was measured. The results of this investigation are discussed in terms of utilizing a readily available and renewable biomass in the form of microalgae produced in HRAOPs as an effective carbon source in the SRB catalysed remediation of AMD.
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- Date Issued: 2011