Environmental Biotechnology

Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458 Vol. 11 No. 2, Issue of April 15, 2008
© 2008 by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile Received November 27, 2006 / Accepted August 13, 2007
DOI: 10.2225/vol11-issue2-fulltext-1
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Batch culture growth of Chlorella zofingiensis on effluent derived from two-stage anaerobic digestion of two-phase olive mill solid waste

Lissette Travieso Córdoba
Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas
Instituto de la Grasa
Avda. Padre García Tejero 4
41012 Sevilla, Spain
Tel: 34 95 4 689654
Fax: 34 95 4691262
E-mail: litravcor@yahoo.com

Alma Rosa Domínguez Bocanegra
Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados
Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco
C.P. 07360, México D.F., México
Tel: 50 613800
Fax: 50 613805
E-mail: adomin@cinvestav.mx

Bárbara Rincón Llorente
Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas
Instituto de la Grasa
Avda. Padre García Tejero 4
41012 Sevilla, Spain
Tel: 34 95 4 689654
Fax: 34 95 4691262
E-mail: brlloren@cica.es

Enrique Sánchez Hernández
Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales
C/ Serrano, 115-duplicado
28006 Madrid, Spain
Tel: 34 91 7452500
Fax: 34 95 5640800
E-mail: ensanher@yahoo.es

Francisco Benítez Echegoyen
Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente
Inversiones Gamma, División Ambiental
Calle 23, No. 802, Vedado, Plaza
Apartado 10 400 Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba
Tel: 537 553769
Fax: 537 553768
E-mail: frabenech2002@yahoo.com

Rafael Borja*
Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas
Instituto de la Grasa
Avda. Padre García Tejero 4
41012 Sevilla, Spain
Tel: 34 95 4689654
Fax: 34 95 4691262
E-mail: rborja@cica.es

Francisco Raposo Bejines
Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas
Instituto de la Grasa
Avda. Padre García Tejero 4
41012 Sevilla, Spain
Tel: 34 95 4 689654
Fax: 34 95 4691262
E-mail: fraposo@cica.es

Manuel Francisco Colmenarejo Morcillo
Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales
C/ Serrano, 115-duplicado
28006 Madrid, Spain
Tel: 34 91 7452500
Fax: 34 95 5640800
E-mail: Mcolmenarejo@ccma.csic.es

*Corresponding author

Financial support: The authors wish to express their gratitude to the “Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia” (Spanish Government) and “Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa” of the “Junta de Andalucía” for providing financial support.

Keywords: batch culture, Chlorella zofingiensis, kinetic parameters, substrate, two-phase olive mill solid waste, two-stage anaerobic digestion.

Abbreviations:

Ca: chlorophyll a
DO: dissolved oxygen
HRT: hydraulic retention time
LCFA: long chain fatty acids
OLR: organic loading rate
OMSW: olive mill solid waste
OPP: oxygen partial pressure
SCOD: soluble chemical oxygen demand
t: operation time
T: temperature
TC:total chlorophyll
TCOD: total chemical oxygen demand
VFA: volatile fatty acids
X: microorganisms concentration at time t
X0: microorganisms concentrations at the beginning of the exponential growth phase
µ: microorganisms specific growth rate
Abstract   Full Text

This paper presents the use of an effluent derived from two-stage anaerobic digestion of two-phase olive mill solid waste (OMSW) as a substrate for the production of Chlorella zofingiensis in batch mode. Chlorella zofingiensis when grown autotrophycally can accumulate significant quantities of valuable carotenoids which are used as an additive in fish and poultry farming, as colorants in foods and in health care products. It was found that two-phase OMSW previously treated by two-stage anaerobic digestion and further sterilized may be used as a culture medium for the microalgae Chlorella zofingiensis. Typical growth curves were obtained using both the above-mentioned anaerobic effluent and a synthetic medium. Total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) and soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) removals of 37% and 45% respectively were achieved in batch experiments after 11 days’ operation time. The specific growth rate was lower when the treated effluent was used as the feed substrate (0.02 h-1) in comparison to the synthetic medium (0.03 h-1). The specific growth rates of the exponential phases were determined by using a first-order kinetic model applied to chlorophyll a (Ca) and total chlorophyll (TC) concentrations, as indirect measurements of the microalgae concentration. It was concluded that the effluent from two-stage anaerobic digestion of two-phase OMSW constituted an appropriate culture medium for the growth of Chlorella zofingiensis, providing a simple technology feasible for producing a very useful product for animal feeding.

Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network