Treatment of Liquid Digestate by Green Algal Isolates from Artificial Eutrophic Pond
Ewelina Sobolewska,
Sebastian Borowski,
Paulina Nowicka-Krawczyk,
Katarzyna Banach
Affiliations
Ewelina Sobolewska
Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 90-530 Lodz, Poland
Sebastian Borowski
Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 90-530 Lodz, Poland
Paulina Nowicka-Krawczyk
Department of Algology and Mycology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
Katarzyna Banach
Department of Algology and Mycology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
The ability of aquatic microalgae to treat the liquid digestate obtained from the anaerobic digestion of plant waste was investigated. Microalgae were isolated from natural environment for a laboratory-scale cultivation and were then used to remove nutrients and organic contaminants from the liquid digestate. It was shown that the microalgae consortia (Tetradesmus obliquus, Microglena sp., Desmodesmus subspicatus) could reduce nitrogen, phosphates, and total COD by up to 70%, 57%, and 95%, respectively. A new algae genus Microglena was isolated, which in a consortium with Tetradesmus obliquus and Desmodesmus subspicatus exhibited a high efficiency in the removal of both organic contaminants and nutrients from the liquid fraction of digestate.
