Effective Chlorella vulgaris Biomass Harvesting through Sulfate and Chloride Flocculants

Abstract

Efficient microalgae harvesting is a great challenge hindering diverse industrial applications of microalgae. Flocculation is regarded as an effective and promising technology for microalgae harvesting. In this study, sulfate (Al2(SO4)3 and Fe2(SO4)3) and chloride flocculants (AlCl3 and FeCl3) were used to harvest Chlorella vulgaris. Flocculation conditions, including flocculant dose, flocculation time, stirring speed, stirring time, and flocculation pH, were optimized, and flocculant effects on microalgal cell status, floc characteristics, biomass composition, algal cell re-culture, and media recycling were investigated. All flocculants exhibited efficient flocculation efficiency (93.5–98.8%) with lower doses of sulfate salts (60 mg/L algal culture) and higher doses of chloride salts (100 mg/L algal culture). The tested flocculants had no obvious influence on biomass composition (including lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and carotenoids), and microalgal cells in flocs could efficiently regrow. The spent medium of all treatments was successfully recycled for subsequent cell growth, thus reducing dependency on fresh medium.