Preliminary data set to assess the performance of an outdoor membrane photobioreactor

Abstract

This data in brief (DIB) article is related to a Research article entitled ‘Optimising an outdoor membrane photobioreactor for tertiary sewage treatment’ [1].Data related to the effect of substrate turbidity, the ammonium concentration at which the culture reaches nitrogen-deplete conditions and the microalgae growth rate under outdoor conditions is provided.Microalgae growth rates under different substrate turbidity were obtained to assess the reduction of the culture's light availability. Lab-scale experiments showed growth rates reductions of 22–44%.Respirometric tests were carried to know the limiting ammonium concentration in this microalgae-based wastewater treatment system.Growth rates (μ) of green microalgae Scenedesmus and Chlorella obtained under outdoor conditions; i.e. 0.40 d−1 (R2 = 0.993) and 0.43 d−1 (R2 = 0.995), respectively, can be useful to obtain optimum operating conditions of membrane photobioreactor (MPBR). Keywords: Ammonium limitation, Growth rate, Membrane photobioreactor, Outdoor, Turbidity