Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Ocean Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: farrah7690@gmail.com
  • 2 School of Ocean Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: farezahanis@gmail.com
  • 3 School of Ocean Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: hajjarhartini@yahoo.com
  • 4 School of Marine and Environment Science, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: aqilahmohammad@umt.edu.my
  • 5 Pyrolysis Technology Research Group, Eastern Corridor Renewable Energy Group, School of Ocean Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia; Institute of Tropical Aquaculture, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: lam@umt.edu.my
  • 6 School of Ocean Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia; Institute of Tropical Aquaculture, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: ahmadj@umt.edu.my
J Environ Manage, 2019 Nov 01;249:109373.
PMID: 31415924 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109373

Abstract

Microalgae have been increasingly used to generate biofuel, thus a sustainable technique should be implemented to harvest the biomass to ensure its existence in the environment. Aspergillus niger was used as bio-flocculant to harvest microalgae from aquaculture wastewater via flocculation technique over a range of pH and mixing rate. The bio-flocculant showed ability to adapt at a wide range of pH from 3.0 to 9.0 and at a mixing rate of 100-150 rpm, producing a harvesting efficiency of higher than 90%. The treated water possessed low concentration of chlorophyll-a (0.3-0.6 mg L-1) and cell density (2 × 106-3 × 106 cell mL-1). These indicate that Aspergillus niger is a promising bio-flocculant to be used in harvesting microalgae, thus promoting the use of flocculation as a green technology in aquaculture wastewater treatment.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.