Selection of microalgae for advanced treatment of swine wastewater and optimization of treatment condition = 축산폐수의 3차처리를 위한 미세조류의 선별 및 처리조건의 최적화

Abstract

The feasibility of algae as means of removing nitrogen and phosphorus from secondary treated swine wastewater was studied. Among the tested 7 species of Chlorella vulgaris (UTEX 265), Chlorella sp. GE 21, Botryococcus braunii (UTEX 572), Botryococcus sp. GE 24, Scenedesmus quadricauda, Phormidium sp. GE 2, and Spirulina maxima (UTEX 2342), C. vulgaris was selected for its fast growth and abilities to remove nitrogen and phosphorus and to produce algal biomass from swine wastewater. C. vulgaris grew well at 35°C, and the optimum initial pH for growth was 8.0. In the effect of light intensity, the growth of C. vulgaris was limited under a light intensity of less than 40 μE/m2/s. The secondary treated swine wastewater contained 58.7 mg/l of total nitrogen and 14.7 mg/l of total phosphorus, and was diluted to 75, 50, and 25% with groundwater to be treated. Nitrogen and phosphorus were removed by C. vulgaris in all diluted swine wastewaters among which the most effective removal was in 75% swine wastewater (swine wastewater:groundwater=3:1). There was a tendency of linear increase in nitrogen and phosphorus removal time with increasing concentration of swine wastewater. Under the optimized culture condition, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were effectively removed to 95.3% and 96.0%, respectively, in 25% swine wastewater after 4-day incubation.