A Bench-scale study of biomass production by Chlorella pyrenoidosa cultivated in anaerobic poultry waste effluent

It is an economical way of utilizing microalgae to yield biomass and treat wastewater simultaneously because the biomass can be converted to biodiesel or other value-added products. The present study was to investigate the feasibility of using effluent from poultry waste anaerobic digestion (PWADE) as a nutritional medium for cultivation of green microalgae Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Different dilution multiples of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 were applied to the PWADE and algal growth was compared in regard to growth rate, nutrient removal efficiency, and biomass production. The effectiveness of adding essential nutrients to the PWADE was also evaluated. Results showed that the maximum biomass of 0.765 g L^-1 and chlorophyll-a content of 24.10 mg L ^-1 were obtained on 20th day at 2% dilution with 5 g L-1 NaHCO3. From a batch culture with 2% diluted PWADE and added nutrients, algae removed ammonia and total phosphorus by 100% and 59.5%, respectively. The biomass was rich in protein (38% w/w) that can be applied as a profitable animal feed supplement and a promising candidate for biofuel production.