LAPSE:2023.36363
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.36363
Reclamation Potential of Onsite Wastewater Post-Treatment with Microalgae: Chemical Elements Perspective
July 13, 2023
Algae-based wastewater treatment is a promising technology with various applications for excess biomass such as biofertilizer production or valuable elements extraction. The benefits of the technology have been discussed for larger wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), but the use of microalgae in decentralized wastewater treatment has been barely reported. The current study screens the possible resource recovery potential of onsite technology, which adds algae-based post-treatment to the conventional biological treatment of domestic wastewater. The effluent from the onsite sequencing batch reactor (SBR) of a household was further processed in laboratory conditions using an SBR technology with two local monocultures of algae—Klebsormidium nitens (Kützing) Lokhorst and Tetradesmus obliquus (Turpin) M. J. Wynne. The decant and the generated algal biomass were analyzed in terms of their element content. The post-treated effluent has a slightly better quality for irrigation purposes than the effluent of the onsite treatment facility—up to 1.6 times increased concentration for macro-elements and up to 1.9 times for micro elements. However, the generated algal biomass shows promising potential for re-use as a fertilizing agent since it contains valuable macro- and micro-elements and the heavy (hazardous) metal content is considerably lower than the limiting values in the current European and national legislations. The K. nitens strain may attract interest since it accumulates valuable metals such as chromium (36 mg/kgDS), nickel (83 mg/kgDS), and silver (0.7 mg/kgDS) that can be derived from the biomass and turn the technology to a circular one.
Keywords
algae, circular technology, decentralized sewerage systems, fertilizer, irrigation, nature-based solutions, onsite wastewater treatment, resource recovery
Suggested Citation
Valchev D, Ribarova I, Uzunov B, Stoyneva-Gärtner M, Lyubomirova V. Reclamation Potential of Onsite Wastewater Post-Treatment with Microalgae: Chemical Elements Perspective. (2023). LAPSE:2023.36363
Author Affiliations
Valchev D: Faculty of Hydraulic Engineering, Department of Water Supply, Sewerage, Water and Wastewater Treatment, University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, 1 Hristo Smirnenski Blvd., 1046 Sofia, Bulgaria [ORCID]
Ribarova I: Faculty of Hydraulic Engineering, Department of Water Supply, Sewerage, Water and Wastewater Treatment, University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, 1 Hristo Smirnenski Blvd., 1046 Sofia, Bulgaria [ORCID]
Uzunov B: Faculty of Biology, Department of Botany, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 8 Dragan Tsankov Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria [ORCID]
Stoyneva-Gärtner M: Faculty of Biology, Department of Botany, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 8 Dragan Tsankov Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria [ORCID]
Lyubomirova V: Trace Analysis Laboratory, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 1 James Bourchier Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
11
Issue
6
First Page
1819
Year
2023
Publication Date
2023-06-15
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: pr11061819, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.36363
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doi:10.3390/pr11061819
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Jul 13, 2023
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CC BY 4.0
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Jul 13, 2023
 
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Original Submitter
Calvin Tsay
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