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Project

The role of algal organic matter (AOM) in coagulation, flocculation and flotation processes for harvesting microalgae biomass: problem or opportunity? (R-9781)

The rising global demand for sustainable green feedstock for industrial chemicals and biofuel has turned the society's attention towards the utilization of microalgal biomass. The major steps in microalgal biomass production involve species-strain selection, cultivation, harvesting, and downstream processing of harvested biomass into desired products. In recent decades, there has been a rapid growth in research and industrial development in each of these production steps regarding the biological perspective as well as process. Among these production stages, harvesting remains as the most challenging and energy-demanding step due to low biomass to liquid ratio of the matured culture and dynamics of cell properties influencing their interaction with liquid culture media. A fundamental understanding of the molecular interactions between microalgal cells, coagulants and extracellular algogenic organic matter (AOM) is required to enable accurate prediction of flocculation performance for different microalgal species. The precise inspection on the dynamics and behaviour of AOM in coagulation and sedimentation could even lead to novel strategies with enhanced techno-economic performance (compared to centrifugation or filtration) of the harvesting process and thus making microalgal biomass production economically more attractive. Additionally, detailed analysis of AOM could also reveal its valorization potential as a resource for biobased functional chemicals such as emulsifiers, hydrocolloids, or high value therapeutic agents. The main objective is to scrutinize the role of extracellular AOM (esp. carbohydrate component) on microalgal flocculation dynamics (separation efficiency, coagulant dose-response, floc characteristics) at the level of concentration and molecular composition of AOM. We aim to elucidate the relationship between microalgal cell-surface properties, floc characteristics and AOM composition, by studying the interaction between each component: cell ↔ coagulant ↔ AOM ↔ floc. The overall objective is to improve the existing harvesting methods and pave the way for novel coagulation-based harvesting processes for microalgae.
Date:1 Oct 2019 →  30 Sep 2023
Keywords:MATERIALS RESEARCH
Disciplines:Bio-organic chemistry, Environmental technologies