Sludge-grown algae for culturing aquatic organisms: Part I. Algal growth in sludge extracts

K. M. Hung, S. T. Chiu, M. H. Wong*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This project is aimed at studying the feasibility of using sewage sludge to prepare culture media for microalgae (Chlorella-HKBU) and the use of the sludge grown algae as a feed for some aquatic organisms Part I of the project included results on preparing sludge extracts and their use on algal culture. By comparing two culturing techniques, 'aeration' and 'shaking,' it was noted that both lag and log phases were shortened in the aeration system. A subsequent experiment noted that algal growth subject to aeration rates of 1.0 and 1.5 liters/min had similar lag and log phases. In addition, both aeration rates had a significantly higher (P < 005) final cell density than that of 05 liters/min. A detailed study on the variation of growth conditions on the algal growth was done. The results indicated that pH values of all the cultures declined below 5 at day 12. The removal rates of ammonia N ranged from 62% to 70%. The sludge-grown algae contained a rather substantial amount of heavy metals (μg/g): Zn 289-581, Cu 443-682, Ni 310-963, Mn 96-126, Cr 25-118, and Fe 438-653. This implied that the rather high levels of heavy metals may impose adverse effects on higher trophic organisms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)361-374
Number of pages14
JournalEnvironmental Management
Volume20
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 1996

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Global and Planetary Change
  • Ecology
  • Pollution

User-Defined Keywords

  • Algal growth
  • Chlorella
  • Heavy metals
  • Sludge extracts

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