Algal culture to treat anaerobic digestate piggery effluent
دکتر نوید مهیمنی
بخشی از این سخنرانی:
Waste slurry produced from the primary treatment of anaerobic digestion effluent (ADE) employed in most agricultural practice is still limited by elevated concentrations of ammonium that can be toxic to most living organisms. In this project, we evaluated growth, development and use of microalgae on un-treated ADE. More specifically, in this work, we studied the long-term cultivation and growth of an isolated microalgal consortium that were capable on treating ADE while simultaneously optimizing limiting factors to their growth and productivity. Comparison between different algal cultivation systems (i.e. open ponds and closed photobioreactors) and different mixing mechanisms (paddle-wheel and jets) were also evaluated to optimize the microalgal growth and increase nutrient removal rate. Also as part of this study, the quality and suitability of grown biomass as a potential feedstock were assessed. We evaluated the nutritional value, pathogen load, in vitro digestibility and potential physiological energy (PPE) of ADE-grown microalgae as a potential feedstock. Pathogen load of ADE-grown microalgae was within regulatory limits. Crude protein and essential amino acid content was comparable with a number of other vegetable protein sources. Finally, the cost assessment of integrating microalgae cultivation was conducted on multiple plausible scenarios to identify the economic viability of the proposed process.