Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate

The remediation of leachate from (municipal) landfills and disposal of hypersaline effluent (from desalination plants) are becoming an increasing challenge for many government authorities and practitioners. There is mounting interest in using bioremediation as a means of stripping contaminants from...

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Main Authors: Richards, R, Mullins, Benjamin
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32826
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author Richards, R
Mullins, Benjamin
author_facet Richards, R
Mullins, Benjamin
author_sort Richards, R
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The remediation of leachate from (municipal) landfills and disposal of hypersaline effluent (from desalination plants) are becoming an increasing challenge for many government authorities and practitioners. There is mounting interest in using bioremediation as a means of stripping contaminants from these waste streams and in the potential for lipid production using microalgae. We present a system dynamics approach to exploring the efficacy of using mixed microalgae populations to treat leachate–hypersaline water. This model evaluates the temporal evolution of metal removal and lipid production using four common marine microalgae species: Nanochloropsis, Pavlova lutheri, Tetraselmis chuii and Chaetoceros muelleri. The uptake kinetics of the metals (removal from the leachate) are modelled using basic adsorption kinetics and the model is primarily parameterised from data obtained through an experimental study where two photobioreactors were dosed with composite leachate–hypersaline solution and seeded with the four microalgae species. After a 10-day period, the microalgae population was found to have removed over 95% of the metals from the solution. Microalgae growth was dominated by Nanochloropsis gaditana and C. muelleri, which are the two species with the highest lipid contents. Overall, this study indicated that the use of microalgae-based bioremediation is a viable method for treating waste streams and lipid-production.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-328262019-02-19T05:35:39Z Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate Richards, R Mullins, Benjamin Microalgae Heavy metals Desalination Leachate remediation Dynamic modelling The remediation of leachate from (municipal) landfills and disposal of hypersaline effluent (from desalination plants) are becoming an increasing challenge for many government authorities and practitioners. There is mounting interest in using bioremediation as a means of stripping contaminants from these waste streams and in the potential for lipid production using microalgae. We present a system dynamics approach to exploring the efficacy of using mixed microalgae populations to treat leachate–hypersaline water. This model evaluates the temporal evolution of metal removal and lipid production using four common marine microalgae species: Nanochloropsis, Pavlova lutheri, Tetraselmis chuii and Chaetoceros muelleri. The uptake kinetics of the metals (removal from the leachate) are modelled using basic adsorption kinetics and the model is primarily parameterised from data obtained through an experimental study where two photobioreactors were dosed with composite leachate–hypersaline solution and seeded with the four microalgae species. After a 10-day period, the microalgae population was found to have removed over 95% of the metals from the solution. Microalgae growth was dominated by Nanochloropsis gaditana and C. muelleri, which are the two species with the highest lipid contents. Overall, this study indicated that the use of microalgae-based bioremediation is a viable method for treating waste streams and lipid-production. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32826 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.07.004 Elsevier fulltext
spellingShingle Microalgae
Heavy metals
Desalination
Leachate remediation
Dynamic modelling
Richards, R
Mullins, Benjamin
Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate
title Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate
title_full Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate
title_fullStr Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate
title_full_unstemmed Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate
title_short Using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate
title_sort using microalgae for combined lipid production and heavy metal removal from leachate
topic Microalgae
Heavy metals
Desalination
Leachate remediation
Dynamic modelling
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32826