Pretreatment of poultry manure anaerobic-digested effluents by electrolysis, centrifugation and autoclaving process for Chlorella vulgaris growth and pollutants removal

Abstract

Different pretreatments (electrolysis, centrifugation and autoclaving) coupled with Chlorella vulgaris biological system was used for the treatment of poultry manure anaerobic-digested effluents. The pretreated effluents were used as the growth medium for algal cultivation. The pollutant removal efficiencies of the combined treatments were determined. Electrochemical pretreatment can efficiently remove the ammonia (NH₄⁺), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC), total carbon (TC), turbidity and bacteria in the digested effluents. About 100.0% NH₄⁺, turbidity and bacteria, 97.6% TP, 81.5% TOC and 96.6% inorganic carbon were removed by 5-h electrochemical treatment. The maximal algal biomass accumulation (0.53 g L⁻¹) was obtained from culture in the effluents pretreated with 2-h electrolysis. The pollutants removal amounts by the combination of electrolysis and biological treatment were much higher than the other combinations.

Keywords:

• microalgae
• anaerobic-digested effluents
• nutrient removal
• pretreatment
• electrochemical oxidation

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund under grant 2012YJ119; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 21106179; and the High-end Foreign Experts Cultivation Project under grant 2012z021.