ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0038-9426
Current Organisation
University of Queensland
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Carbon capture engineering (excl. sequestration) | Chemical and thermal processes in energy and combustion | Wastewater treatment processes | Chemical engineering
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-08-2019
DOI: 10.3390/CELLS8080851
Abstract: Microalgae are swift replicating photosynthetic microorganisms with several applications for food, chemicals, medicine and fuel. Microalgae have been identified to be suitable for biofuels production, due to their high lipid contents. Microalgae-based biofuels have the potential to meet the increasing energy demands and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the present state of technology does not economically support sustainable large-scale production. The biofuel production process comprises the upstream and downstream processing phases, with several uncertainties involved. This review examines the various production and processing stages, and considers the use of chemometric methods in identifying and understanding relationships from measured study parameters via statistical methods, across microalgae production stages. This approach enables collection of relevant information for system performance assessment. The principal benefit of such analysis is the identification of the key contributing factors, useful for decision makers to improve system design, operation and process economics. Chemometrics proffers options for time saving in data analysis, as well as efficient process optimization, which could be relevant for the continuous growth of the microalgae industry.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2014.05.126
Abstract: This study investigated an alternative nutrient source arising from anaerobically digested Tetraselmis sp. effluent (MDE) as a nutrient feed stock to form a closed loop nutrient system. To determine MDE suitability the following factors were observed: growth, lipid content, and the bacterial ersity. MDE was diluted according to the concentration of NH4(+) content (20, 40, 60, 80 mg/L) and compared against F/2 medium a standard medium for Tetraselmis sp. The growth rate on the MDE medium was not as rapid as the F/2 medium and the less diluted MDE correlated (R(2)) with lower total lipid contents (R(2), 0.927), additionally acyl carrier proteins (ACP) gene expression rates displayed lower gene expression within MDE treatments. Lastly, higher concentrations of MDE were correlated with a higher bacterial ersity throughout the investigation. The suitability of MDE as a nutrient supplement for the production of Tetraselmis sp. biomass and lipid is feasible.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2014.11.114
Abstract: Methane production from lipid extracted, pre-treated disrupted and non-pretreated Tetraselmis spp. microalgae was investigated. The results demonstrated that 122 mL per g VS methane was produced for the lipid extracted Tetraselmis spp., demonstrating that lipid free Tetraselmis can be effectively digested in an anaerobic environment. A total of 252 mL per g VS and 248 mL per g VS of methane was reported for non-disrupted and pre-treated disrupted Tetraselmis sp. respectively. It was also observed that the microbial community caused cell lysis of Tetraselmis spp. during the anaerobic digestion process. Cell lyses can offer a direct conversion pathway of intact Tetraselmis spp. for energy production, thus negating the need for pre-treatment.
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Date: 2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S12934-020-01472-4
Abstract: Dewatering constitutes a major challenge to the production of microalgae, accounting for 20–30% of the product cost. This presents a setback for the applicability of microalgae in the development of several sustainable products. This study presents an investigation into the dynamic dewatering of microalgae in a combined flocculation-filtration process. The effect of process conditions on the performance of 12 flocculants and their mixtures was assessed. The mechanism of flocculation via the electrostatic path was dominated by charge neutralization and subsequently followed bridging in a ‘sweep flocculation’ process. Cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) based flocculants recorded the highest biomass retention with PAM1 and PAM2 attaining 99 and 98% retention with flocculant dosages of 10 and 15 mg/L respectively. Polyvinylamine (PVAM) was also found to improve system stability across the pH range 4–10. Alum was observed to be only effective in charge neutralization, bringing the system close to its isoelectric point (IEP). Chemometric analysis using the multi-criteria decision methods, PROMETHEE and GAIA, was applied to provide a sequential performance ranking based on the net outranking flow (ф) from 207 observations. A graphical exploration of the flocculant performance pattern, grouping the observations into clusters in relation to the decision axis ( $$\\pi$$ π ), which indicated the weighted resultant of most favorable performance for all criteria was explored. CPAM based flocculants and their mixtures demonstrated superior performance due to their viscoelastic behaviour under turbulence. The use of PVAM or alum in mixtures with CPAM reduced the required doses of both flocculants, which will provide beneficial financial impact for largescale microalgae dewatering in a flocculant assisted dynamic filtration process. Chemometric analysis based on the physico-chemical properties of the system provides a time saving assessment of performance across several criteria. The study findings provide an important foundation for flocculant assisted dynamic filtration processes.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2009.12.030
Abstract: In this study, a cladoceran planktonic invertebrate, Moina australiensis was uniquely cultured in two stage digested piggery wastewater and fed associated piggery wastewater bacteria. The viability of M. australiensis cultured in digested piggery wastewater under closed dark conditions to limit phytoplankton activity was tested by determining suitable effluent total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentrations. The highest total M. australiensis biomass production 0.94+/-0.47g and the rate of population increase (r) 0.15+/-0.08 was recorded in the 30mgl(-1) TAN concentration treatment. The lowest 'r' values and decreased biomass production was observed with increasing TAN concentration levels. This study, also focused on profiling and quantification of the associated bacterial populations in the wastewater culture media and within the digestive tract of M. australiensis by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) which revealed the feeding specificity of M. australiensis towards "gamma-Proteobacteria."
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2019.06.031
Abstract: Electrodialysis (ED) is a promising emerging electrochemical membrane technology for nutrient concentration and recovery from wastewater. However associated environmental safety aspects have to be assessed before utilizing concentrated nutrient produced by ED, for instance as fertilizer. Municipal wastewaters contain various micropollutants that have the potential of being concentrated during the ED treatment processes. This study quantified the transport of pharmaceuticals during ED nutrient recovery from synthetic centrate wastewater. Specifically, it is evaluated whether pharmaceutical micropollutants are mobile, and therefore able to transport across the cation exchange membranes and concentrate into the ED concentrate product. Results demonstrate that NH
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2016.11.063
Abstract: Electro-concentration of nutrients from waste streams is a promising technology to enable resource recovery, but has several operational concerns. One key concern is the formation of inorganic scale on the concentrate side of cation exchange membranes when recovering nutrients from wastewaters containing calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and carbonate, commonly present in anaerobic digester rejection water. Electrodialytic nutrient recovery was trialed on anaerobic digester rejection water in a laboratory scale electro-concentration unit without treatment (A), following struvite recovery (B), and following struvite recovery as well as concentrate controlled at pH 5 for scaling control (C). Treatment A resulted in large amount of scale, while treatment B significantly reduced the amount of scale formation with reduction in magnesium phosphates, and treatment C reduced the amount of scale further by limiting the formation of calcium carbonates. Treatment C resulted in an 87 ± 7% by weight reduction in scale compared to treatment A. A mechanistic model for the inorganic processes was validated using a previously published general precipitation model based on saturation index. The model attributed the reduction in struvite scale to the removal of phosphate during the struvite pre-treatment, and the reduction in calcium carbonate scale to pH control resulting in the stripping of carbonate as carbon dioxide gas. This indicates that multiple strategies may be required to control precipitation, and that mechanistic models can assist in developing a combined approach.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIORTECH.2009.11.053
Abstract: The bio-conversion rate of Moina australiensis fed with Chlorella vulgaris grown on digested piggery effluent at three different feeding rates was determined and a 2, 3 and 4-day harvest interval strategy was investigated. This study indicates that C. vulgaris is a suitable food source for M. australiensis. A significant difference (P < or = 0.001) in the feeding rate against mean total populations was found among treatments. The increase in the amount of algae fed accelerated the production rate, and the population density peaked faster in the high C. vulgaris fed treatment. The BCR calculated from this experiment indicates that for every 1000 mg of C. vulgaris fed there was an increase of 437.9 mg of M. australiensis biomass produced. A significant difference (P < or = 0.001) in biomass production among the different harvest interval treatments was observed. The 2-day harvest interval treatment produced 7.78 g of M. australiensis followed by 6.89 g in the 3 day and 5.01 g in the 4-day harvest interval treatment. This study provides strong evidence that M. australiensis can utilise the bacterial blooms and bio-films associated with digested piggery effluent as a food source.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
Start Date: 07-2023
End Date: 06-2026
Amount: $453,237.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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