A photobioreactor using Nannochloropsis oculata marine microalgae for removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sorption of metals in produced water.

The objective of the present work is to evaluate the potential of the removal of PAHs and metal sorption for the treatment of petroleum produced water using a photobioreactor system with Nannochloropsis oculata microalgae. A set of photobioreactors with different gradients of produced water concentration diluted in saline water was designed, establishing five gradients (v/v): 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%. These concentrations were established to test the removal of PAHs. The microalgal growth was monitored daily, noting the adaptation of microalgae to the addition of produced water as a culture medium, with cell growth of 5.24 × 107 cells mL-1 from 25% (v/v), 4.09 × 107 cells mL-1 from 50% (v/v), 2.77 × 107 cells mL-1 from 75% (v/v), and 1.17 × 107 cells mL-1 from 100%. The total removal efficiency of PAHs in the produced water was 94%. Organic compounds such as naphthalene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, and acenaphthylene showed higher removal percentages, between 89 and 99% efficiency in produced water. Iron and zinc were the metals detected in the water produced, and iron reduced from 1.57 ± 0.08 mg L-1 to <0.1 mg L-1 after 28 days of cultivation, whereas zinc increased by 0.23 ± 0.05 to 3.90 ± 0.46 mg L-1. The PAHs removal may have occurred in two ways, by intracellular bioaccumulation or biodegradation by oxidoreductase enzymes. 0.2 g of dry biomass with maximum extraction of oil obtained 3.07% and generation of 3.70% of protein was considered as value-added products for biodiesel and bioplastics.