Tetradesmus obliquus to treat groundwater contaminated with nitrate towards a semicontinuous process

Abstract

Nitrate presence in surface and groundwater is an environmental problem because this contaminant in high concentration can cause several healthy risks to the living being. In this sense, the present article aimed to evaluate the microalga Tetradesmus obliquus as an alternative in the remediation of groundwater contaminated by nitrate, mainly. Experiments were carried out in batch and semicontinuous modes with surface and forced aeration, light intensities between 50 and 200 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹, initial nitrate concentration up to 400 mg L⁻¹ and using synthetic and real effluent. The bioreactors were operated between 3 and 15 days. The nitrate and phosphorus removal rate for the real effluent (containing 100–150 mg L⁻¹ of nitrate and supplemented with 20 mg L⁻¹ of phosphorus) reached 100 and 94%, respectively. In semicontinuous mode, volumetric replacement rates (v/v) of 20, 40, 60, and 80% were tested in 3 days cycles of volumetric replacement time and obtaining, until the third cycle, stability of the process for the replacement rates of 40 and 60% (considering the maximum limits of legislation for nitrate and phosphorus and biomass production).

Keywords

Biological denitrification / Nitrate contamination / Biological process / Microalga

References

[1] Almomani F, Judd S, Bhosale RR, Shurair M, Al-Jaml K, Khraisheh M. Intergraded wastewater treatment and carbon bio-fixation from flue gases using Spirulina platensis and mixed algal culture. Process Saf Environ Prot, 2019, 16: 240-250

[2] Al-Zreiqat I, Abbassi B, Headley T, Nivala J, Van Afferden M, Muller RA. Influence of septic tank attached growth media on total nitrogen removal in a recirculating vertical flow constructed wetland for treatment of domestic wastewater. Ecol Eng, 2018, 118: 171-178

[3] Amini M, Amini Khoei Z, Erfanifar E. Nitrate (NO₃− ) and phosphate (PO₄ ³⁻ ) removal from aqueous solutions by microalgae Dunaliella salina. Biocatal Agricul Biotechnol, 2019, 19(3): 101097

[4] Amini E, Babaei A, Mehrna MR, Shayegan J, Safdari M. Municipal wastewater treatment by semi-continuous and membrane algal-bacterial photo-bioreactors. J Water Process Eng, 2020, 36: 101274

[5] Andreotti V, Solimeno A, Rossi S, Ficara E, Marazzi F, Mezzanotte V, García J. Bioremediation of aquaculture wastewater with the microalgae Tetrasalmis suecica: semi-continuous experiments, simulations and photo-respirometric tests. Sci Total Environ, 2020, 738: 139859

[6] AOAC Official method of analysis, 2002 16 Washington DC Association of Official Analytical

[7] APHA Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 2018 23 Washington, DC American Public Health Association

[8] Cabello P, Luque-Almagro VM, Róldan MD, Moreno-Vivián C. Nitrogen cycle. Encycloped Microbiol, 2019

[9] Chi Z, O’Fallon JV, Chen S. Bicarbonate produced from carbon capture for algae culture. Trends Biotechnol, 2011, 29(11): 537-541

[10] Chisti Y. Constraints to commercialization of algal fuels. J Biotechnol, 2013, 167: 201-214

[11] Da Fontoura JT, Rolim GS, Farenzena M, Gutterres M. Influence of light intensity and tannery wastewater concentration on biomass production and nutrient removal by microalgae Scenedesmus sp. Process Saf Environ Prot, 2017, 111: 355-362

[12] De Farias Silva CE, Sforza E. Carbohydrate productivity in continuous reactor under nitrogen limitation: effect of light and residence time on nutrient uptake in Chlorella vulgaris. Process Biochem, 2016, 51(12): 2112-2118

[13] De Farias Silva CE, Sforza E, Bertucco A. Stability of carbohydrate production in continuous microalgal cultivation under nitrogen limitation: effect of irradiation regime and intensity on Tetradesmus obliquus. J Appl Phycol, 2018, 30(1): 261-270

[14] De Oliveira AM, Toledo PHO, Freire CC, Gomes MG, Buarque ACS. Análise do avanço da cunha salina em sistema aquífero costeiro. Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental, 2018, 23(5): 939-950

[15] Gris B, Sforza E, Vecchiato L, Bertucco A. Development of a process for an efficient exploitation of CO₂ captured from flue gases as liquid carbonates for Chlorella protothecoides cultivation. Ind Eng Chem Res, 2014, 53: 16678-16688

[16] Ho S, Li P, Liu C, Chang J. Bioprocess development on microalgae-based CO₂ fixation and bioethanol production using Scenedesmus obliquus CNW-N. Biores Technol, 2013, 145: 142-149

[17] Hosseini NS, Shang H, Ross GM, Scott JA. Microalgae cultivation in a novel top-lit gas-lift open bioreactor. Biores Technol, 2015, 192: 432-440

[18] Ji M, Abou-Shanab RAI, Kim S, Salama E, Kabra AN, Lee Y, Hong S, Jeon B. Cultivation of microalgae species in tertiary municipal wastewater supplemented with CO₂ for nutrient removal and biomass production. Ecol Eng, 2013, 58: 142-148

[19] Johnson SF. Methemoglobinemia: infants at risk. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care, 2019, 49(3): 57-67

[20] Karl D, Michaels AF. Nitrogen cycle. Encyclopedia of ocean sciences, 2019 Elsevier 408-417

[21] Khoo CG, Lam MK, Lee KT. Pilot-scale semi-continuous cultivation of microalgae Chlorella vulgaris in bubble column photobioreactor (BC-PBR): hydrodynamics and gas-liquid mass transfer study. Algal Res, 2016, 15: 65-76

[22] Lee C, Hamm S, Cheong J, Kim K, Yoon H, Kim M, Kim J. Contribution of nitrate-nitrogen concentration in groundwater to stream water in an agricultural head watershed. Environ Res, 2020, 184: 109313

[23] Li D, Xu X, Li Z, Wang T, Wang C. Detection methods of ammonia nitrogen in water: a review. Trac Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 2020, 127: 115890

[24] Lizzul AM, Hellier P, Purton S, Baganz F, Ladommatos N, Campos L. Combined remediation and lipid production using Chlorella sorokiniana grown on wastewater and exhaust gases. Biores Technol, 2014, 151: 12-18

[25] López-Pacheco Y, Castillo-Vacas E, Castaneda-Hernandez L, Gradiz-Menjivar A, Rodas-Zuluaga L, Castillo-Zacarias C, Sosa-Hernandez J, Barcelo D, Iqbal H, Parra-Saldivar R. CO₂ biocapture by Scenedesmus sp. grown in industrial wastewater. Sci Total Environ, 2021, 790: 148222

[26] Nayak M, Karemore A, Sen R. Performance evaluation of microalgae for concomitant wastewater bioremediation, CO₂ biofixation and lipid biosynthesis for biodiesel application. Algal Res, 2016, 16: 216-223

[27] Nayak M, Karemore A, Sen R. Sustainable valorization of flue gas CO₂ and wastewater for the production of microalgal biomass as a biofuel feedstock in closed and open reactor systems. RSC Adv, 2016, 6(94): 91111-91120

[28] Pandey A, Srivastava S, Kumar S. Sequential optimization of essential nutrients addition in simulated dairy effluent for improved Scenedesmus sp ASK22 growth, lipid production and nutrients removal. Biomass Bioenergy, 2019, 128: 105319

[29] Rambaldo L Assessment of a novel Microalgae-cork based technology for removing antibiotics, pesticidesand nitrates from groundwater. Chemosphere, 2022, 301: 134777

[30] Rezvani F, Sarrafzadeh MH, Oh HM. Hydrogen producer microalgae in interaction with hydrogen consumer denitrifiers as a novel strategy for nitrate removal from groundwater and biomass production. Algal Res, 2020, 45: 101747

[31] Richa A, Touil S, Fizir M. Recent advances in the source identification and remediation techniques of nitrate contaminated groundwater: a review. J Environ Manag, 2022, 316: 115265

[32] Rosales E, Del Olmo G, Preciado CC, Douterelo I. Phosphate dosing in drinking water distribution systems promotes changes in biofilm structure and functional genetic diversity. Front Microbiol, 2020, 11: 599091

[33] Ruiz-Marin A, Mendoza-Espinosa LG, Stephenson T. Growth and nutrient removal in free and immobilized green algae in batch and semi-continuous cultures treating real wastewater. Biores Technol, 2010, 101(1): 58-64

[34] Samori G, Pistocchi R. Nutrient removal efficiency and physiological responses of Desmodesmus communis at different HRTs and nutrient stress condition using different sources of urban wastewater effluents. Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2014, 173: 74-89

[35] Sharp R, Khunjar W, Daly D, Perez-Terrero J, Chandran K, Niemiec A, Pace G. Nitrogen removal from water resource recovery facilities using partial nitrification, denitratation-anaerobic ammonia oxidation (PANDA). Sci Total Environ, 2020, 724: 138283

[36] Shashirekha V, Sivakumar M, Seshadri S. Effective C-N-P ratio for growth and nutrient removal efficiency of Scenedesmus obliquus in sugar mill effluent. Energy Ecol Environ, 2016, 1: 283-295

[37] Shayesteh H, Vadiveloo A, Bahri P, Mohemani N. Can CO₂ addition improve the tertiary treatment of anaerobically digested abattoir effluent (ADAE) by Scenedesmus sp. (Chlorophyta)?. Algal Research, 2021, 58: 102379

[38] Solís-Salinas CE, Guadalupe P-J, Okoye PU, Guillén-Garcés A, Sebastian PJ, Arias DM. Long-term semi-continuous production of carbohydrate-enriched microalgae biomass cultivated in low-loaded domestic wastewater. Sci Total Environ, 2021, 798: 149227

[39] Stanier RY, Deruelles J, Rippka R, Herdman M, Waterbury JB. Generic assignments, strain histories and properties of pure cultures of cyanobacteria. Microbiology, 1979, 111(1): 1-61

[40] Suvarna B, Sunitha V, Reddy YS, Reddy NR. Data health risk assessment of nitrate contamination in groundwater of rural region in the Yerraguntla Mandal South India. Data Brief, 2020, 30: 105374

[41] Vazirzadeh A, Jafarifard K, Ajdari A, Christi Y. Removal of nitrate and phosphate from simulated agricultural runoff water by Chlorella vulgaris. Sci Total Environ, 2021, 802: 149988

[42] Voltolina D, Cordero B, Nieves M, Soto LP. Growth of Scenedesmus sp. in artificial wastewater. Biores Technol, 1999, 68: 265-268

[43] Ye S, Gao L, Zhao J, An M, Wu H, Li M. Simultaneous wastewater treatment and lipid production by Scenedesmus sp. HXY2. Bioresour Technol, 2020, 302: 122903

[44] Zhang C, Guo L, Qin J, Chen Z, Deng Z, Wang X. Combined partial denitrification-anammox with urea hydrolysis (U-PD-Anammox) process: a novel economical low-carbon method for nitrate-containing wastewater treatment. J Environ Manag, 2023, 326: 116653

[45] Zhou W, Qian L, Han P, Li J. Microalgae cultivation and photobioreactor design. Microalgae cultivation for biofuels production, 2020 Elsevier 31-50

Funding

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico(313195/2019-6)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Alagoas(E:60030.0000002360/2022)