Bio-oil production and removal of organic load by microalga Scenedesmus sp. using culture medium contaminated with different sugars, cheese whey and whey permeate.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the bio-oil production and the organic load removal using the microalga Scenedesmus sp. The cultivation was carried out in reactors with a total volume of 3 L and 0.7 vvm aeration, with illumination in photoperiods of 12 h light/12 h dark for 12 days. The following sugar concentrations were tested: 2.5, 5.0 and 10 g/L of glucose, lactose, fructose and galactose with 10% inoculum volume. After experiments were performed with cheese whey in natura and cheese whey permeate with different lactose concentrations (1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 5.0 g/L). In these experiments the inoculum concentrations were 10, 15, 20 and 30% (v/v). The results showed that this microalga was effective for the production of lipids when it was cultivated in medium with cheese whey in natura with 2.5 g/L of lactose and 20% inoculum (v/v). Using cheese whey in natura at the concentration of 3.5 g/L of lactose and 30% (v/v) of inoculum obtained 77.9% of TOC removal and 38.447 mg of TOC removed/mg oil produced. It was also observed that when there is increased production of bio-oil, there is less removal of organic matter. The addition of glucose, fructose or galactose in the medium did not enhance the production of bio-oil by Scenedesmus sp. when compared to lactose, but increased the organic matter removal.

Use of a greasy effluent floater treatment station from the slaughterhouse for biosurfactant production.

Most commercially available surfactants are produced from petroleum. However, increasing concerns about the environment have stimulated the search for biosurfactant production. This work examines biosurfactant production from the greasy effluent floater treatment station from the slaughterhouse of poultry and pigs. The biosurfactant production was evaluated using two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa [American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 9027 and 10145] in a kinetic study to determine which strain produces a higher rhamnolipid concentration, which is characterized by the rhamnose concentration. The strain of P. aeruginosa was selected via a central composite design based on the following variables: fat concentration, nitrogen concentration, added ammonium nitrate (AN), and brewery residual yeast (BRY). The preliminary results show that the P. aeruginosa strain ATCC 10145 produced biosurfactant more efficiently than ATCC 9027. After optimizing the variables that were studied, the best fat, BRY, and AN concentrations (in g/L) were found to be 12, 15, and 0, respectively.