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Improving microalgae removal efficiency using chemically-processed clays

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Abstract

Chemically-processed clays (PRCs) by base and acid treatments were developed to effectively remove microalgae, and their removal efficiencies were evaluated and compared to that of natural clay. The processed clays were produced by using sodium hydroxide and different amounts of sulfuric acid, and their characteristics were analyzed. Microalgae removal efficiency of the clay was varied depending on the amount of sulfuric acid used in treatments. When adding 1 g/L of a PRC-D type (treated with 1.5 v/w sulfuric acid) to the Microcystis aeruginosa suspension (1 × 106 cells/mL), the highest removal performance (87.3 ± 1.5%) without significant pH variation of the suspension was found among tested PRCs, whereas that of natural clay was 32.1 ± 2.2%. Finally, when selected PRC-D showing best efficiency was applied to lake water taken at a local algae bloomed lake, it exhibited 77.6% removal efficiency of microalgae, indicating 1.7 times higher than the natural clay. The results suggest that processed clays in this study could contribute to effective removal of microalgae in the algal-bloomed area with minimal environmental impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Marine Bioenergy R&D Center & Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Korea

    Z-Hun Kim, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Ji-Hyun Yang, Hanwool Park & Choul-Gyun Lee

  2. Research Institute of Biotechnology, Dongguk University, Goyang, 10326, Korea

    Moon-Young Yoon

  3. Department of Medical Biotechnology/Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Dongguk University, Goyang, 10326, Korea

    Jung-Keug Park

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  1. Z-Hun Kim
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  2. Nguyen Ngoc Thanh
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  3. Ji-Hyun Yang
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  4. Hanwool Park
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  7. Choul-Gyun Lee
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Correspondence to Choul-Gyun Lee.

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Kim, ZH., Thanh, N.N., Yang, JH. et al. Improving microalgae removal efficiency using chemically-processed clays. Biotechnol Bioproc E 21, 787–793 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12257-016-0655-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12257-016-0655-x

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