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Feasibility of Chlorella vulgaris to waste products removal from cheese whey

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Abstract

The cheese whey generation has become an environmental concern due to high levels of pollutants that can significantly impact on the ecosystem. Microalgae are known to eliminate nutrients/contaminants from wastewater, such as nitrogen, phosphorous, carbon and among others. The current work aims to evaluate dairy wastewater (such as cheese whey) treatment using Chlorella vulgaris. Several concentrations of coagulated and non-coagulated cheese whey and different inoculum sizes (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 1.0 g L−1) were used. Carbon (7–56%), nitrogen (0–71%) and phosphorous (11–46%) were removed. The final effluent containing coagulated cheese whey had lower levels of waste products compared to the non-coagulated cheese whey. Increments in the inoculum size lead to better results. In the assays with 0.2, 0.4, and 1.0 g L−1 of inoculum were removed 54, 56, and 41% of carbon, 71, 49, and 40% of nitrogen and 16, 31, and 46% of phosphorous, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports from Brazilian agencies: Foundation for Research Support of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG, grants APQ-00101-15 and APQ-00785-18), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Uberlandia. Av. João Naves de Ávila 2121, Uberlândia, MG, 38408-144, Brazil

    T. de Almeida Pires, V. L. Cardoso & F. R. X. Batista

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  1. T. de Almeida Pires
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  2. V. L. Cardoso
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  3. F. R. X. Batista
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Correspondence to F. R. X. Batista.

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Editorial responsibility: Sivakumar Durairaj.

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de Almeida Pires, T., Cardoso, V.L. & Batista, F.R.X. Feasibility of Chlorella vulgaris to waste products removal from cheese whey. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 4713–4722 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03423-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03423-x

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