Appraising the phycoremediation potential of cyanobacterial strains Phormidium and Oscillatoria for nutrient removal from textile wastewater (TWW) and synchronized biodiesel production from TWW-tolerant biomass.

In this study, phycoremediation of textile wastewater (TWW) by freshwater cyanobacterial strains such as sp., Oscillatoria sp. F01 and Oscillatoria sp. F02 was evaluated, and lipids were simultaneously extracted from biomass for biodiesel production. Onset of the study, Phormidium sp. and Oscillatoria sp. F01 has better growth rates, increased biomass production, high chlorophyll content, and efficient nutrient utilization in TWW compared to Oscillatoria sp. F02. Phormidium sp. showed 1.41 g/L dry weight, followed by Oscillatoria sp. F01 with 1.39 g/L and Oscillatoria sp. F02 with 1.02 g/L biomass. Both strains demonstrated their capability to elevate the pH level while reducing TDS and eliminating/reducing several nutrients such as nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, sulphates, sulphides, chlorides, calcium, sodium, and magnesium. Further, the total lipids extracted from the TWW-grown Phormidium sp., Oscillatoria sp. F01 and Oscillatoria sp. F02 was estimated to be 8.20, 13.70 and 11.20 %, respectively, on day 21, which was higher than the lipid content obtained from control cultures. Further, biodiesel produced from the lipids of all strains showed higher levels of C12:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:1, C18:2, and C18:3 among all the fatty acids. Therefore, they can potentially offer a valuable source of lipids and diverse fatty acids for high-quality biodiesel production. This integrated system not only offers a solution for TWW treatment but also provides a feedstock for renewable fuel production simultaneously.

Investigation on thermochemical co-gasification of rice husk and groundnut shell in open core gasifier for the generation of producer gas: An optimization by central composite design.

Several energy-related strategies and scenarios have been suggested to address concerns about rising global temperatures. In addition to using renewable energy, the improvement in energy efficiency of conventional systems is also in focus. Policies are already in place in many countries, including India, to address the energy needs of rural and small-scale enterprises by gasifying locally available, diverse agricultural leftovers. Although rice husk and groundnut shell are two commonly used agricultural leftovers in the southern part of India, their appropriate blending must be studied to improve their conversion efficiency in co-gasification. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to construct a statistical model utilizing response surface methodology (RSM) to analyze the thermochemical co-gasification of the aforementioned biomass materials. Since RSM can predict optimum performance with limited experimental data, this could contribute to the identification of the performance and operating parameters of an open-core gasifier. The model predicts that the mixture containing 20% rice husk and working at an ER of 0.25 and a reduction zone inlet temperature of 879.9 °C will be CO-23.53%, H2-13.97%, and CH4-3.56%. In addition, the lower heating value and gas yield can be as high as 6.17 MJ/Nm3 and 2.369 m3/kg, respectively. This outcome can contribute to the effective utilization of biomass for energy supply in rural areas. However, the economic parameters must be analyzed to implement the same in any region.