By Michael Fuad

HARVESTING MICROALGAE (CHLAMYDOMONAS

REINHARDTII) FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION USING

WASTEWATER TREATMENT TECHNIQUES

By Michael Fuad

Potential of Algae

http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxusa.htm

Potential of Algae

Complete Process Producing Biofuel

Complete Process Producing Biofuel

Esterification produces biofuels

What is the problem?

• Algae cost $20.00/gallon of biofuel• Furthermore, a significant part of that

production cost is associated with harvesting microalgae

Background

• 10 µm

http://algae.tcoalternativefuels.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/chlorellasp_microscope.jpg

10 µm

Background

http://www.steve.gb.com/images/science/centrifugation.png

Background

Alternative Harvesting Methods:1. Ultrasonic separation—Bosma et al. (2003)

Background

Alternative Harvesting Methods:1. Ultrasonic separation2. Froth flotation—Csordas et al. (2004)

Background

Alternative Harvesting Methods:1. Ultrasonic separation2. Froth flotation3. Flocculation

Background

http://globalpolyglu.com/treatment1-2.html

Background

• Water and Wastewater Technology by Hammer and Hammer (1996) explained flocculation

Background

• A Lee et al. (2007)—algae are negatively charged microparticles

Hypothesis

• I hypothesized that chemicals used in wastewater treatments could be used to flocculate microalgae

Background

• Knuckey et al. (2006)—identified factors that affect flocculation, i.e. pH and dosage

Goals

1. Determine if flocculation is an effective alternative to centrifugation for harvesting C. reinhardtii from suspension; and

2. Identify factors that optimize flocculation of C. reinhardtii in order to achieve harvesting efficiency that is similar to or better than centrifugation in preparation for biofuel production.

Procedure

• Measure effectiveness of harvesting by flocculation using spectrophotometer, measuring optical density (absorbance)

Materials: Ionic Compounds

1. Aluminum sulfate—Al2(SO4)3 2. Ferric chloride—FeCl3

3. Calcium carbonate—CaCO3

4. Ammonium sulfate—(NH4)2SO4

Materials: Polyacrylamides

Results

Results

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

pH 7.00pH 3.00

Ionic Compound

Floc

cula

tion

Effici

ency

Al2(SO4)3 FeCl3 CaCO3 (NH4)2SO4

Results: pH 3.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

Polyacrylamide Number

Floc

cula

tion

Effici

ency

Results: pH 3.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 130%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Polyacrylamide Number

Floc

cula

tion

Effici

ency

Conclusions

• Flocculation effectively harvests microalgae• The optimum flocculation technique is to use

Clarifloc Polyacrylamide C-6288 at a pH of 3.00 and a dosage of 0.025 g flocculant/g dry algae

• Since flocculation is more efficient than centrifugation, flocculation is a less expensive method of harvesting microalgae

Limitations

• My research limited to a single species of algae

• Flocculation factors might vary for different algae species

• Effect of chemicals on environment is experimentally unknown. However, theoretically, flocculation is safe for environment

Future Work

• Engineer a continuous flocculation system

• Apply the flocculation techniques to other microalgae species with potential

http://brator.sinto.co.jp/global/picture/dspirast.jpg

Acknowledgements

• Dr. Roger Ruan• Science Research Team• Mrs. Fruen• Mr. Hall

http://www.bioeconomyconference.org/07%20Images/ruan.jpg

HARVESTING MICROALGAE (CHLAMYDOMONAS

REINHARDTII) FOR BIOFUEL PRODUCTION USING

WASTEWATER TREATMENT TECHNIQUES

By Michael Fuad

By Michael Fuad

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