Flocculation performance and mechanism of fungal pellets on harvesting of microalgal biomass.

Flocculation performance and mechanism of fungal pellets on harvesting of microalgal biomass.

Bioresour Technol. 2020 Dec 01;321:124463

Authors: Pei XY, Ren HY, Liu BF

Abstract
In this study, a bioflocculation method assisted by fungal pellets was developed for highly efficient microalgae harvesting. Effects of critical parameters, including flocculation type, temperature, rotation speed and initial pH, on the bioflocculation of fungal Aspergillus niger for microalgae Scenedesmus sp. were investigated. Results showed that the maximum flocculation efficiency of 99.4% was obtained when the fungal pellets were inoculated in the algal solution at the initial pH of 8.0, temperature of 30 °C and rotation speed of 160 rpm for 48 h in BG-11 medium. Furthermore, microscopy examination, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Zeta potential measurement and three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy were used to explore the mechanism of bioflocculation process. It was found that the interaction of fungi and microalgae was related to the surface functional groups of fungal pellets. This study provides a interpretation of conceivable mechanism for microalgal bioflocculation by fungal pellets.

PMID: 33290984 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

Source: Industry