The impact of light intensity and wavelength on the performance of algal-bacterial culture treating domestic wastewater
Open accessAbstract
Light is the main energy source for microalgae, and the intensity and wavelength of light influence cell metabolism and biomass composition, which, in turn, affects wastewater treatment. The objective of this study is to examine how different light intensities and light wavelengths affect the growth of mixed algal-bacterial culture while treating sewage. Three different light intensities (100, 200, and 300 μmol/m2-s) of four different light wavelengths (blue, red, white, and yellow) were selected for this study. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved nitrogen (DN), and dissolved phosphorus (DP) in influent and effluent samples were measured, along with chlorophyll content in the biomass. The highest chlorophyll concentration of 3.5 mg/L was observed at 100 μmol/m2-s intensity of red light. The concentration of chlorophyll decreased as light intensity increased, with exception of white light. The highest DOC removal of 84% was observed at 300 μmol/m2-s intensity of blue light whereas the highest DN (51%) and DP (80%) removal was observed with a red light intensity of 100 μmol/m2-s. Overall, blue light with an intensity of 300 μmol/m2-s and red light with an intensity of 100 μmol/m2-s were found to be the most efficient at removing carbon and nutrients. The results suggested that the color and intensity of light influence algal-bacterial growth and wastewater treatment efficiency.
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In several studies, the 680 nm wavelength was used to measure cell concentration while being sensitive to pigment content (chlorophyll).
“In several studies, the 680 nm wavelength was used to measure cell concentration while being sensitive to pigment content (chlorophyll)”
From Quantitative Prediction of Spirulina platensis Biomass Using UV-Vis Spectrophotometry (2026) · cites this paper as Katam et al., 2022
Section 3.1 says chlorophyll absorbs light in the red spectral region, but does not say that 680 nm was used to measure cell concentration or discuss that measurement's sensitivity to chlorophyll. Section 2.3 describes a method for determining chlorophyll concentration without identifying a 680 nm cell-concentration measurement. Searches for “680 nm” and optical-density measurement did not locate the claimed practice in our copy; page numbers were unavailable. (LLM, conf=0.73)
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Quantifying Microalgae Growth by the Optical Detection of Glucose in the NIR Waveband
Thiviyanathan, V. A., Ker, P. J., Amin, E. P. P., Tang, S. G. H., Yee, W., & Jamaludin, M. Z. (2023) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules28031318 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Quantitative Prediction of Spirulina platensis Biomass Using UV-Vis Spectrophotometry
Lestari, F. S., Zulys, A., & Satya, A. (2026) · LIMNOTEK Perairan Darat Tropis di Indonesia · doi:10.55981/limnotek.2026.14459
- Authors
- Katam, K., Ananthula, R., Anumala, S., Sriariyanun, M., & Bhattacharyya, D.
- Affiliations
- Mahindra University (IN)
- Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IN)
- King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (TH)
- Venue
- E3S Web of Conferences
- Publisher
- EDP Sciences
- Published
- 2022
- Volume
- 355
- Pages
- 02003
- ISSN
- 2267-1242 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4291136771
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7
- FWCI
- 9.78
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- E3S Web of Conferences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment
- Keywords
- light intensity, light wavelength, domestic wastewater treatment, microalgae, blue light, red light, dissolved organic carbon removal, nitrogen removal, phosphorus removal, chlorophyll content, nutrient removal
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