Combined remediation and lipid production using Chlorella sorokiniana grown on wastewater and exhaust gases.

Substitution of conventional feedstock with waste based alternatives is one route towards both remediation and reducing costs associated with production of algal biomass. This work explores whether exhaust gases and wastewater can replace conventional feedstock in the production of biomass from Chlorella sorokiniana. Exhaust gases were used to augment production in final effluent, anaerobic digester centrate or in standard medium. Cultures were grown in 1L bottles under illumination of 80 µmol m(-2) s(-1). The results showed an average µmax ranging between 0.04 and 0.07 h(-1), whilst the final biomass yield in different media ranged between 220 and 330 mg L(-1). Lipid yield was increased over time to 31 mg L(-1). CO2 addition resulted in complete nitrogen removal between 48 and 96 h in both final effluent and centrate. The results also indicated that levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gases can be reduced by between 20% and 95%.

Quantitative investigation of soot distribution by laser-induced incandescence.

Strategies employed for quantitative measurement by laser-induced incandescence are detailed. Data are obtained for several laminar diffusion flames formed from blended Diesel fuels of known composition. A tomographic procedure is developed to scale the two-dimensional data to soot volume fraction and to correct for the trapping of signal by the soot field. Scaling is achieved by use of laser extinction along the measurement plane. The findings are used in discussions of measurement issues within turbulent environments. Data are augmented with elastic scattering measurements, allowing particle-size and number-density distributions to be inferred. A degree of axial and radial similarity among various flames suggests that the processes of soot formation and oxidation occur over similar time scales for each fuel.