Ângelo Paggi Matos
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Regina Coeli de Oliveira Torres
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Luiz Rodrigo Ito Morioka
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Elisa Helena Siegel Moecke
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Kepler Borges França
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Desalination wastewater, which contains large amount of salt waste, might lead to severely environmental pollution. This study evaluated the effect of dilution rate (0.1≤D≤0.3day−1) on microalgal biomass productivity, lipid content, and fatty acid profile under steady-state condition ofChlorella vulgarissupplemented with concentrated desalination. Continuous culture was conducted for 55 days. Results show that the biomass productivity (Px) varied from 57 to 126 mg L−1 d−1(dry mass) when the dilution rate ranged from 0.1 to 0.3 day−1. At lowest dilution rate (D=0.1day−1), the continuous culture regime ensured the highest values of maximum biomass concentration (Xm=570±20 mL−1) and protein content (52%). Biomass lipid content was an increasing function ofD. The most abundant fatty acids were the palmitic (25.3±0.6%) atD=0.1day−1and the gamma-linolenic acid (23.5±0.1%) atD=0.3day−1ones. These fatty acids present 14 to 18 carbons in the carbon chain, being mainly saturated and polyunsaturated, respectively. Overall, the results show that continuous culture is a powerful tool to investigate the cell growth kinetics and physiological behaviors of the algae growing on desalination wastewater.
A continuous process for the conversion of vegetable oils into methyl esters of fatty acids
