Removal of Toxic Metal Presence in the Wastewater and Production of the Biomass from Microalgae Chlorella sp.

Abstract

Removal of high toxic metals from the wastewater was one of the mandate options to avoid the environmental pollution caused by the wastewater plant. Microalgae cultivation on the wastewater was one of the hopeful methods to convert the waste into useful by-product. In this study, the Chlorella sp. was used to remove the presence of the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) in the wastewater. Added to the above, the biomass and lipids of the Chlorella sp. were examined with respect to the incubation time. Chlorella sp. was cultivated using BG11 medium. Here, two different types of wastewater had been used, one from leather industry and other priggery waste. The respective ratio of leather and piggery wastewater used in the current study was 0 : 100, 25 : 75, 50 : 50, 75 : 25, and 100 : 0. The total percentage of the nitrogen and phosphorous removal by the microalgae within 14 days was determined. Based on the findings, it is clear that Chlorella sp. L33 was highly efficient to absorb the nitrate and phosphorous content in the wastewater. With regard to the biomass production, the priggery wastewater treated reported the maximum biomass for 100 μmol/L with 0.55 g/L. However, the 100 μmol/L has higher pH content than other test samples. By varying the ratio of the wastewater, the removals rates can be improved.