Methods coagulation/flocculation and flocculation with ballast agent for effective harvesting of microalgae

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2015-10, Vol.193, p.178-184
• Main Authors: Gorin, Kirill V., Sergeeva, Yana E., Butylin, Victor V., Komova, Anastasiya V., Pojidaev, Victor M., Badranova, Gulfiya U., Shapovalova, Anna A., Konova, Irina A., Gotovtsev, Pavel M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acrylic Resins - chemistry; Biomass; Chlorella vulgaris; Chlorella vulgaris - chemistry; Coagulants - chemistry; Flocculation; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Inorganic coagulants; Microalgae - chemistry; Microalgae cultivation; Polymeric flocculants
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2015.06.097

•Polyethylenoxide was successfully applied as flocculant for biomass sedimentation.•New method of biomass flocculation by combine using of polymer and FeCl3 is developed.•Application of flocculated biomass as ballast agent for microalgae harvesting. The effects of coagulant (FeCl3·6H2O), various flocculants based on polyacrylamide (PAA), polyethylenoxide (PEO) and flocculated biomass as ballast agent, dosage and sedimental time on flocculation efficiency of harvesting Chlorella vulgaris GKV1 cultivated in a laboratory were investigated. The results of this work indicated that the flocculation efficiency achieved about 90% after 5min of sedimentation when adding of coagulant and flocculant mixture (FeCl3 50mg/l+PEO based Sibfloc-718 7.5mg/l) or flocculant with ballast agent (Sibfloc-718 7.5mg/l+10% flocculated biomass). PAA and PEO showed good flocculation efficiency at dosage of 0.025 and 0.015g/l, respectively without pH adjustment. Finally, the most suitable flocculation method was discussed in this paper.