Civil Wastewater Remediation through Employment of Indigenous Microalgae and Sewage Sludge

Abstract

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can employ some inorganic pollutant compounds as nutrients, for example nitrates and phosphates. Traditional wastewater treatment comprises oxidation ponds in which the Activated Sludge performs the oxidation of the organic matter. Microalgae may be well applied in these processes. In this work, we tested the potential of remediation of a mixture of a local microalga, Chlorella sp. Pozzillo, and activated sludge and compared it to controls of only microalga and only activated sludge. We found that the mixture of bacteria and microalgae leads to an improvement in nitrogen removal up to the 83,68%, while phosphorous removal is improved when the autochthonous microalgae are used alone. The abatement of the Chemical Oxygen Demand was of 59,17% when using the microalgae and activated sludge consortium, while it was higher (-76,67%±0) when using the only activated sludge. The biomass was also analysed for its content in lipids and carbohydrates. This information may be useful to assess the best industrial application for the biomass obtained from civil wastewaters remediation process, in accordance with principles of circular economy and waste-to-resources view.