Co-cultivation of high-value microalgae species with filamentous microalgae for dairy wastewater treatment

Abstract

The study examined the feasibility of co-culturing high-value microalgae sp. (Chlorella vulgaris (C.), and Scenedesmus (S.)) with filamentous microalgae sp. (Tribonema (T.) and Lyngbya (L.)) to remediate dairy wastewater (DW) and enhance biomass production and harvesting. The results showed that biomass productivity increased by 12‒174% compared to monocultures, and the best consortium was S:T. This consortium achieved the highest biomass productivity of 84.25 mg L−1 d−1 while removing 86.7% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), >88.7% of NO3−-N and >98.5% of PO43–-P. The study also tested the effect of harvesting time on the accumulation of biochemical components and found the optimal harvesting times of day 9 and day 11 to achieve maximum carbohydrate and lipid productivity, respectively. Additionally, the microalgae consortium S:T achieved a high biomass recovery of 78.5%, compared to 32.4% obtained for S. alone, highlighting its potential for efficient DW remediation and resource recovery.