Development of Full-Cycle Utilization of <i>Chlorella sorokiniana</i> Microalgae Biomass for Environmental and Food Purposes

The application of microalgae biomass of <i>Chlorella sorokiniana</i> as environmentally friendly biosorbents for removing potentially toxic elements (PTE) from water and as a source of biofuel has been thoroughly studied. In this paper, we investigate its physicochemical properties infr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Natalia Politaeva, Yulia Smyatskaya, Rafat Al Afif, Christoph Pfeifer, Liliya Mukhametova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/10/2648
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Summary:The application of microalgae biomass of <i>Chlorella sorokiniana</i> as environmentally friendly biosorbents for removing potentially toxic elements (PTE) from water and as a source of biofuel has been thoroughly studied. In this paper, we investigate its physicochemical properties infrared spectroscopy (IR spectra), microstructure, adsorption properties); we have managed to isolate the lipid complex, which amounted to 20% of dry biomass. Studies of the lipid complex showed that 80.02% of lipids are unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1, C18:2, C18:3). Additionally, we have investigated the efficiency of using the residual biomass obtained after lipid extraction for water purification from rare-earth metals (REM) and PTE. To increase the sorption properties of residual biomass, its thermal modification was carried out and sorption materials based on heat-treated residual biomass and chitosan were created. The physicochemical and mechanical properties of the obtained sorption materials were studied. The total sorption capacity was 31.9 mg/g for REM and 349.7 mg/g for PTE. Moreover, we propose a new method for the disposal of spent sorbents as additional fuel. Spent sorbents can be considered to be biofuel in terms of energy content (20.7 MJ*kg<sup>−1</sup>). The results of this study provide the basis for increased use of microalgae.
ISSN:1996-1073