Study on the formation of granular algae
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Date
2018-06
Authors
Tan, Pei Chin
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Abstract
Microalgae can be used in biological wastewater treatment as it can survive
harsh condition. Microalgae have also been identified as potential alternative resource
for biofuel production. But there are significant disadvantages to both applications as
the algae culture usually low in density and small in size. This causes the harvesting and
separation processes of the microalgae to be energy-intensive and thus nonfeasibility of
scale up. Microalgae are able to produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)
which is crucial for the formation of granule. By providing cultural condition that is
suitable for microalgae to form granule, harvesting and separation of microalgae will be
much easier as granule has higher density and can settle down easily. In this
experiment, several factors that influence the production of extracellular polymeric
substances (EPS) in microalgae are investigated, which are the availability of nutrient
and growth phase of the microalgae. MLSS, EPS content and nutrient analysis are
carried out periodically throughout the experiment. There is formation of granular
sludge in microalgae found after the growth of microalgae reach stationary phase. The
settling time of the microalgae became shorter as bigger and more granule form.