Technology of Using Municipal Wastewater for Obtaining Chlorella Vulgaris Biomass with High Lipid Content for Biofuel Production

Abstract

An approach based on the integration of technologies that transform human activity wastes into feedstock and energy sources may help address the issues of reducing the burden on the environment and improving the economic efficiency of renewable energy production. The possibility of using municipal wastewater for cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae was investigated. It has been established that for 7-10 days of cultivation the concentration of ammonium cations and phosphate anions is reduced to the maximum permissible level, and the maximum concentration of intracellular lipids of microalgae was 18 ± 2 % (wt.). With the use of the Verhulst and Monod equations, a mathematical model of the process of microalgae cultivation in wastewater has been developed, which describes the kinetics of accumulation of microalgae cells, the loss of nitrogen and phosphorus-containing substrates, with an error not exceeding 15 %.