Comparison between coagulation-flocculation and ozone-flotation for Scenedesmus microalgal biomolecule recovery and nutrient removal from wastewater in a high-rate algal pond.

The removal of nutrients by Scenedesmus sp. in a high-rate algal pond, and subsequent algal separation by coagulation-flocculation or flotation with ozone to recover biomolecules, were evaluated. Cultivation of Scenedesmus sp. in wastewater resulted in complete NH3-H removal, plus 93% total nitrogen and 61% orthophosphate removals. Ozone-flotation obtained better water quality results than coagulation-flocculation for most parameters (NH3-N, NTK, nitrate and nitrite) except orthophosphate. Ozone-flotation, also produced the highest recovery of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins which were 0.32 ±â€¯0.03, 0.33 ±â€¯0.025 and 0.58 ±â€¯0.014 mg/mg of biomass, respectively. In contrast, there was a low lipid extraction of 0.21 mg of lipids/mg of biomass and 0.12-0.23 mg of protein/mg of biomass in the coagulation-flocculation process. In terms of biomolecule recovery and water quality, ozone showed better results than coagulation-flocculation.

Performance of electrochemical oxidation process for removal of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most detected and concentrated plasticizer in environment and wastewaters, worldwide. In this study, different operating parameters such as current intensity, treatment time, type of anodes, and supporting electrolytes were tested to optimized the electro-oxidation process (EOP) for the removal of DEHP in the presence of methanol as a dissolved organic matter. Among the anodes, the Nb/BDD showed the best degradation rate of DEHP, at low current intensity of 0.2 A after 90 min of treatment time with a percentage of degradation recorded of 81 %, compared to 70 % obtained with the Ti/IrO2-RuO2. Furthermore, due to the combination of direct and indirect oxidation, the removal of DEHP in the presence of 1 g/L Na2SO4 was higher than NaBr, even though the oxidant production of NaBr was 11.7 mmol/L against 3.5 mmol/L recorded in the presence of sulfate at 0.5 A and after 60 min of electrolysis time. Under optimal condition (current intensity = 0.5 A, time = 120 min, using Nb/BDD anode and Na2SO4 as supporting electrolyte), the removal of 87.2 % of DEHP was achieved. The total cost of 0.106 US$/m(3) of treated water was achieved based on economical optimization of reactor with current intensity of 0.2 A and 1 g/L Na2SO4.