Dairy Wastewaters for Algae Cultivation, Polyhydroxyalkanote Reactor Effluent Versus Anaerobic Digester Effluent

Nutrients in dairy wastewaters can be remediated through assimilation into algal biomass. Anaerobically digested manure creates an effluent (ADE) that is useful for algal cultivation while alternate processing of manure through a polyhydroxyalkanoate reactor generates a distinct effluent (PHAE), not previously characterized for algal cultivation. Each effluent was evaluated for growth rate, biomass production, and nutrient recovery using type algae species Chlorella vulgaris . Growth rates were elevated in 5, 10, and 20 % dilutions of PHAE (0.59, 0.53, 0.42 days ⁻¹ ) compared to equal concentrations of ADE (0.40, 0.36, 0.37 days ⁻¹ ). In addition, the growth phase lasted up to twice as long for PHAE, resulting in a fourfold higher stationary phase algal concentration (cells∙mL ⁻¹ ) compared to ADE. Growth in ADE was limited by specific inhibitory properties: high concentrations of dissolved organic matter, ammonia, and elevated bacterial load. Maximum nutrient removal rates for ADE and PHAE were 0.95 and 3.46 mg·L ⁻¹ ·day ⁻¹ for nitrogen and 0.67 and 0.04 mg·L ⁻¹ ·day ⁻¹ for phosphorus, respectively. Finally, biomass derived from PHAE was higher in lipids (11.3 % versus 7.2 %) and thus has a greater potential as a feedstock for biofuel compared to ADE.