Bioconversion of nitrogen in the rice parboiling wastewater by incorporation in biomass of the cyanobacterium Aphanothece microscopica Nägeli

  • Reinaldo Gaspar Bastos CCA/UFSCar
  • Márcio Queiroz Severo EQA/FURG
  • Giandra Queiroz Volpato EQA/FURG
  • Eduardo Jacob-Lopes DTCA/UFSM
  • Leila Queiroz Zepka DTCA/UFSM
  • Maria Isabel Queiroz EQA/FURG
Keywords: nitrogen, single-cell protein, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bioreactor

Abstract

The cyanobacteria are able to effectively grow in wastewater due to their ability to utilize exogenic organic carbon sources and inorganic nutrients of the wastewater. Additionally, the biomass formed by the conversion of the pollutants have potential to be used as single-cell protein source. In this sense, the aim of this study was to evaluate the bioconversion of nitrogen of the parboiled rice wastewater by cyanobacteria in heterotrophic bioreactors. The results show the potential of the proposed system for the conversion of nitrogen from the wastewater, resulting in a removal efficiency of 83.0%, associated with a nitrogen to protein conversion of 9.2% at 15h of hydraulic retention time. These values indicate the possibility of producing 234 gprotein/m3wastewater treated by this process.

Author Biographies

Márcio Queiroz Severo, EQA/FURG
Escola de Química e Alimentos, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, FURG
Eduardo Jacob-Lopes, DTCA/UFSM
Departamento de Tecnologia e Ciência de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, UFSM
Maria Isabel Queiroz, EQA/FURG
professora titular da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, bolsista produtividade em pesquisa do CNPq, experiência em tratamento avançado de águas residuárias.
Published
23/12/2010
Issue
Vol. 5 No. 3 (2010)
Section
Papers

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