Surfactant-Mediated Microalgal Flocculation: Process Efficiency and Kinetic Modelling

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2024

Autores

Maia, C (Autor) Outra; Pôjo, V (Autor) Outra; Tânia Tavares (Autor) FEUP; Pires, JCM (Autor) FEUP; F. Xavier Malcata (Autor) FEUP

Revista

Título: Bioengineering

Vol. 11

Página Final: 722

Editora: MDPI

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citações

Scopus - 0 Citações

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-011-5S3

DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11070722

Abstract (EN): Microalgae are a valuable source of lipids, proteins, and pigments, but there are challenges in large-scale production, especially in harvesting. Existing methods lack proven efficacy and cost-effectiveness. However, flocculation, an energy-efficient technique, is emerging as a promising solution. Integrating surfactants enhances microalgal harvesting and disruption simultaneously, reducing processing costs. This study investigated cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) for harvesting Tetraselmis sp. strains (75LG and 46NLG). CTAB exhibits superior results, with 88% harvesting efficiency at 1500 and 2000 mg L-1 for 75LG and 46NLG, respectively, for 60 min of sedimentation-thus being able to reduce the operating time. Beyond evaluating harvesting efficiency, our study explored the kinetics of the process; the modified Gompertz model led to the best fit. Furthermore, the largest kinetic constants were observed with CTAB, thus highlighting its efficacy in optimising the microalgal harvesting process. With the incorporation of the suggested enhancements, which should be addressed in future work, CTAB could hold the potential to optimise microalgal harvesting for cost-effective and sustainable large-scale production, eventually unlocking the commercial potential of microalgae for biodiesel production.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 14