Single-step dynamic dewatering of microalgae from dilute suspensions using flocculant assisted filtration
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Background: Dewatering constitutes a major challenge to the production of microalgae, accounting for 20–30% of the product cost. This presents a setback for the applicability of microalgae in the development of several sustainable products. This study presents an investigation into the dynamic dewatering of microalgae in a combined flocculation-filtration process. The effect of process conditions on the performance of 12 flocculants and their mixtures was assessed. Results: The mechanism of flocculation via the electrostatic path was dominated by charge neutralization and subsequently followed bridging in a ‘sweep flocculation’ process. Cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) based flocculants recorded the highest biomass retention with PAM1 and PAM2 attaining 99 and 98% retention with flocculant dosages of 10 and 15 mg/L respectively. Polyvinylamine (PVAM) was also found to improve system stability across the pH range 4–10. Alum was observed to be only effective in charge neutralization, bringing the system close to its isoelectric point (IEP). Chemometric analysis using the multi-criteria decision methods, PROMETHEE and GAIA, was applied to provide a sequential performance ranking based on the net outranking flow (ф) from 207 observations. A graphical exploration of the flocculant performance pattern, grouping the observations into clusters in relation to the decision axis ($$\pi$$ π ), which indicated the weighted resultant of most favorable performance for all criteria was explored. Conclusion: CPAM based flocculants and their mixtures demonstrated superior performance due to their viscoelastic behaviour under turbulence. The use of PVAM or alum in mixtures with CPAM reduced the required doses of both flocculants, which will provide beneficial financial impact for largescale microalgae dewatering in a flocculant assisted dynamic filtration process. Chemometric analysis based on the physico-chemical properties of the system provides a time saving assessment of performance across several criteria. The study findings provide an important foundation for flocculant assisted dynamic filtration processes.
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The sequential chemometric analysis of 209 observations across varying system conditions using PROMETHEE and GAIA was able to provide a complete ranking of the flocculants based on their outranking flow.
“The sequential chemometric analysis of 209 observations across varying system conditions was assessed using the preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE) and graphical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA). This assessment was able to provide a complete ranking of the flocculants based on their outranking flow.”
From Factors Affecting Microalgae Production for Biofuels and the Potentials of Chemometric Methods in Assessing and Optimizing Productivity (2019) · cites this paper as [105]
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- Authors
- Musa, M., Ward, A., Ayoko, G. A., Rösch, C., Brown, R., & Rainey, T. J.
- Affiliations
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Rainey, Thomas J.
- Venue
- Microbial Cell Factories
- Published
- 2020-12
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 222-222
- ISSN
- 1475-2859 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7716443
- OpenAlex
- W3110028645
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Microbial Cell Factories (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Repository KITopen (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- KITopen (cc-by)
- Funders
- Queensland University of Technology
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Coagulation and Flocculation Studies
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques
- Keywords
- microalgae dewatering, cationic polyacrylamide, polyvinylamine, alum, sweep flocculation, charge neutralization, bridging flocculation, isoelectric point, biomass retention, PROMETHEE, Gaia, multi-criteria decision making, chemometrics, flocculant dosage optimization
- MeSH terms
- Polyacrylamides, Acrylic Resins, Filtration, Flocculation, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Industrial Microbiology, Suspensions, Water, Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared, Biomass, Static Electricity, Microalgae
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