Wastewater treatment and biomass generation by Nordic microalgae : growth in subarctic climate and microbial interactions

• Main Author: Ferro, Lorenza
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Kemiska institutionen 2019
• Subjects: Microalgae; Wastewater; Nitrogen; Phosphate; Biomass; Lipids; Subarctic Climate; Light; Temperature; Bacteria; Photoautotrophy; Heterotrophy; Mixotrophy; HRAP; Metabarcoding; Microbial Communities; Alpha-diversity; Environmental Factors; Microbiology; Mikrobiologi; Other Biological Topics; Annan biologi; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Biokemi och molekylärbiologi; Chemical Sciences; Kemi; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-156470

Nordic native microalgal strains were isolated, genetically classified and tested for their ability to grow in municipal wastewater. Eight of the isolated strains could efficiently remove nitrogen and phosphate in less than two weeks. Two of these strains, Coelastrella sp. and Chlorella vulgaris, were found to have high biomass concentration and total lipid content; also two Desmodesmus sp. strains showed desirable traits for biofuel-feedstock, due to their fast growth rates and high oil content. The adaptation to subarctic climate was comparatively evaluated in three Nordic strains (C. vulgaris, Scenedesmus sp. and Desmodesmus sp.) and a collection strain (S. obliquus). Their growth performance, biomass composition and nutrients removal was investigated at standard (25°C) or low temperature (5°C), under continuous light at short photoperiod (3 h light, 25°C) or moderate winter conditions (6 h light, 15°C). Only the Nordic strains could grow and produce biomass at low temperature, and efficiently removed nitrogen and phosphate during both cold- and dark-stress. Phenotypic plasticity was observed in Scenedesmus and Desmodesmus under different growth conditions, adaptation to low temperature increased their carbohydrate content. Short photoperiod strongly reduced growth rates, biomass and storage compounds in all strains and induced flocculation in C. vulgaris, which, however, performed best under moderate winter conditions. The symbiotic relationships between the Nordic microalga C. vulgaris and the naturally co-occurring bacterium Rhizobium sp. were investigated batchwise under photoautotrophic, heterotrophic and mixotrophic conditions, comparing the co-culture to the axenic cultures. The photoautotrophic algal growth in BG11 medium mainly supported Rhizobium activity in the co-culture, with no significant effects on C. vulgaris. In synthetic wastewater, a synergistic interaction only occurred under mixotrophic conditions, supported by CO2/O2 exchange and a lower pH in the culture, resulting in higher biomass ...