Application of photosynthetic microalgae in the direct desalination pretreatment of seawater

Abstract

The abilities of three species of freshwater microalgae to grow in, and desalinate untreated and undiluted seawater were investigated. The salinities of the seawater were reduced from 37.5g/L to 26.25 ± 1.33, 27.19 ± 1.33 and 30.0 ± 0.00 g/L by Desmodesmus subspicatus LC172266, Desmodesmus armatus LC172263 and Dictyosphaerium spp. LC172264 on the fourth, eighth and tenth week of the experiment, respectively, while the control had no change in the salinity. D. subspicatus cell concentration initially dropped from 1.25 × 106 cells/ml to 9.68 × 105 cells/ml and then gradually increased to 4.86 × 107 cells/ml by the tenth week. With D. armatus and Dictyosphaerium spp., the cell concentrations increased steadily from 1.25 × 106 cells/ml to 4.97 × 108 cells/ml and 3.25 × 108 cells/ml, respectively. There were increases in the pH during desalination by the three species. This demonstrates the halotolerant potentials of these species and their abilities to reduce the salinity of seawater.

The Impact of Inoculum Preparation Media on Pollutant Removal through Phycoremediation of Agricultural Drainage Water by Desmodesmus sp.

“…[46], Synechococcus sp. [47], C. vulgaris [48], Desmodesmus subspicatus and D. armatus [49]. Wang et al [50] cultivated Chlorella sp.…”