(188db) Flocculation Induction on Microalgae Consortia Cultures with Organic Wastes

Recently, high value products obtained from microalga biomass compete at the market, positioning themselves as alternatives to commonly used products. However, the cost of production is high, thus products obtained from microalgae biomass are expensive. For example, high cost of biomass harvest negatively impact on the final cost of products. So, find low cost alternatives for this unit operation is an important issue. Flocculation induced by the addition of organic flocculants may be an option to reduce costs in harvesting microalgae biomass. The aim of this work was to prove two flocculants made of organic wastes: chitosan produced with shrimp shell and bioactive peptides obtained from Moringa oleifera seeds. Flocculants were tested on high cell density mixotrophic cultures from microalgae consortia insulated from lakes of central region in Mexico Lerma-Bajio. Microalgae consortia were growth on CSTR on fed batch under controlled conditions and mineral synthetic medium (BBM). Flocculation experimentation was carry out on jar test with different cell densities and flocculant concentration. Afterwards, data of flocculation kinetics were numerically analyzed, with the perspective to propose a mathematical model.