Evaluation of Kenaf Fibers As Moving Bed Biofilm Carriers in Algal Membrane Photobioreactor Publisher Pubmed



Derakhshan Z^{1, 2, 3} ; Mahvi AH^{4, 5} ; Ehrampoush MH¹ ; Ghaneian MT¹ ; Yousefinejad S⁶ ; Faramarzian M⁷ ; Mazloomi SM⁸ ; Dehghani M⁷ ; Fallahzadeh H⁹
Source: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Published:2018

Abstract

In this lab-scale study, the feasibility of using kenaf fibers as moving bed biofilm carriers in hybrid microalgal membrane photobioreactors (HMPBR) in organic matter and atrazine elimination from real secondary effluent was evaluated. For evaluating the kinetics of biofilm substrate consumption, an experimental model was proposed. Inoculation of wastewater samples with free carriers resulted in the greater removal of target pollutants. Removal efficiency of atrazine and chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased to 27% and 16%, with respect to the control, respectively. The total biomass accumulation in HMPBR exceeded 5 g/L, and the microalgae tended to aggregate and attached to biofilm carriers. The removal efficiency of HMPBR improved significantly via inoculation of kenaf fiber carriers with bioremediation microalgal strains (p < 0.01). A lower stabilization ratio (VSS/TSS) was also recorded. The biomass in HMPBR included more lipids and carbohydrates. The results revealed that kenaf fibers could improve and upgrade the biological activity of different wastewater treatment applications, considering the great potential of biofilm carriers and their effluent quality. © 2018 Elsevier Inc.