Clearas Water Recovery, a US based company has developed a process to use algae to remove nitrogen and phosphorous from public wastewater treatment plants, keeping waterways from being inundated with the compounds that starve fish and plant life of oxygen. In turn, the algae can be sold to other companies for fertilizer, biofuels and other uses. […]

The treatment of saline wastewater in the presence of organic content represents a challenge for many industrial sectors. SaltGae project aims to develop and demonstrate a techno-economically viable solution for the treatment of saline wastewater using algae. Moreover, this project will represent a case study for demonstration of SaltGae solutions to the cross-cutting barriers to […]

Iowa State University has come up with a new technology that improves the efficiency of waste water reclamation. The new technology could be economical for small town waste water treatment. Conventional methods use bacterial process that result in sludge with a foul smell and disposal issues. But this new method uses vertical conveyor belts which […]

Scientists from Singapore performed an experiment where a microfiltration-based membrane photobioreactor (MPBR) and forward osmosis-based osmotic membrane photobioreactor (OMPBR) was operated with Chlorella vulgaris for continuous tertiary wastewater treatment. Results indicated that the integration of membrane filtration with photobioreactors is promising in microalgae-based tertiary wastewater treatment. More

Scientists performed an experiment to examine the biomass growth and nutrient removal in MPBRs operated at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 1 and 4 days. Chlorella vulgaris was used as the inoculant. Results showed that membrane photobioreactors have the potential to operate at shorter HRTs (1 day) as compared to PBRs (2 – 5 […]

To overcome the limitations of conventional techniques used for waste water treatment, scientists from Spain performed an experiment where an interaction process microalgae-bacteria appeared as a sustainable and respectful option with the environment. These processes are based on oxidation of organic matter from wastewater by heterotrophic bacteria. These oxidation products are assimilated by microalgae during […]

Phycospectrum Environmental Research Centre (PERC) from India has developed and successfully demonstrated microalgae based technology for reverse osmosis at Brintons Carpets Asia Pvt ltd, India. The R/O reject from Brintons has a TDS of 20,000 to 25,000 mg/L and this was continuously loaded into a 10 KL demonstration plant in which selected microalgae were also […]

Researchers from Sweden conducted an experiment to analyse the effect of inhibiting nitrification on algal growth and nutrient uptake in municipal waste water treating photobioreactors. Allylthiourea was used to inhibit nitrification process. The nitrification inhibited reactors were compared to control reactors. Results showed that higher growth of microalgae was seen in inhibited reactors resulting in […]

Researchers from USA conducted an experiment to demonstrate the limiting factor to algae growth on dairy wastewaters. Dairy waste waters were mixed with slaughter house wastewaters to improve the ammonia nitrogen content. Results showed that algae grown on such wastewaters had higher protein and oil content. Further the process also reduced nutrient contents remaining in […]

Scientists from Hawaii are conducting an experiment to use microalgae for industrial waste water treatment, particularly oil refinery. They have found that the algae is capable of removing noxious chemicals, including 90% ammonia-nitrogen and 97% phosphorus. The experiment is being carried out with two algal species – Chlorella and Scenedesmus. As the microbes feed on […]

Treatment or remediation of wastewater using algae is called phycoremediation. There are two different systems of algae-based wastewater treatment. They are Waste Stabilization Pond Systems (WSPs) and High Rate Algal Ponds (HRAP), both of which are secondary treatment methods. In the first type, wastewater treatment is achieved by mutualistic growth of microalgae and heterotrophic bacteria. […]

Algal Systems LLC has completed demonstration project of their new approach to biofuel production. The company has set up a demonstration plant in Alabama, where the idea of combining waste water with algae to produce biofuel is being demonstrated. This is the first energy yielding wastewater treatment process that uses carbon negative technologies to yield […]

Despite being major attraction as feedstock, microalgae are not economically feasible player in terms of cultivation cost. A recent research conducted by Guo Z, Liu Y and others focused on an ecofriendly technology for the production of biofuel from microalgae called Platymonas subcordiformis. The microalgae were grown in pretreated flounder aquaculture wastewaters taken from different […]

Oilgae, the most popular web destination for algae fuels and algae value-added products, has launched, Oilgae Gallery. This will be a unique promotion platform for all companies and suppliers for the algae industry. The Super Formula to Fight Aging – Its Name is Astaxanthin -Know more What is Oilgae Gallery? It is an attractive section […]

Wastewater treatment lagoons have the potential to serve as a local energy source, according to a Clarkson University doctoral student. Stefanie Kring, an environmental science and engineering Ph.D. student, has discovered the potential biofuel content of microbes that live in local waste water treatment aerated lagoons. Kring regularly visited the Canton, N.Y., wastewater treatment aerated lagoons during a […]

Waste stream generated in the textile industry is essentially based on water-based effluent generated in the various activities of wet processing of textiles, in a practical estimate, it has been found that 45% material in preparatory processing, 33% in dyeing and 22% are re-processed in finishing. The fact is that the effluent generated in different […]

Industrial-scale production of leather  requires extremely high volumes of process water. The water is not only needed for transportation in the production process but also for various tasks such as removing or soaking the hides. The wastewater problem is correspondingly acute  especially in European producer countries like Italy and Spain but also in China, India, […]

Algae are possibly one of the most useful, yet one of the most ignored organisms. In addition to the fact that algae are responsible for consuming most of the CO2 and releasing the most amount of oxygen that keeps us alive, algae are also being used in diverse industries and applications. In fact, according to […]

Aside from the fact that expensive reactor systems are not required, the algae- based wastewater treatment also is unlike some other algal-cultivation (for fuel) methods that rely on using algae that might not have a particular medium as its natural habitat. This is the powerful idea that has driven some companies to make serious efforts […]

Algae for its consistent growth requires sufficient amount of nutrients.  Since waste water already contains nitrogen, carbon and  phosphorous there is a speculation that the algae growing in waste water might not require any additional nutrients, however, research studies reveal that some amount of nutrient additions might be required. The necessary addition of nutrients also […]

It is a well known fact that the wastewater industry faces a lot of challenges for treatment. Major problems with current wastewater treatment practices include: High energy requirements , high operations and maintenance requirements,  odor control in summer, sewer corrosion, sludge age ,ashing and gassing. Many wastewater treatment processes generate large amounts of sludge that must be […]

Algae in wastewater range in size from tiny single cells to branched forms of visible length.  Unicellular green algae such as Chlorella and Scenedesmus have been widely used in waste-water treatment because they often colonize the ponds naturally, and they have fast growth rates and high nutrient uptake capabilities per unit biomass due to their […]

Algae is considered to be one of the most effective bioremediation agent and is being researched world-wide for treating the waste water emitted by various industries and sewage treatment plant. It’s suitability to extreme growth conditions, capability to remove heavy metals from the waste water and its capability to abate carbon -dioxide makes it an […]

If you are in the algae fuel industry the Oilgae comprehensive report comprising of the processes, technologies, challenges persisting in the algae fuels industry is a must read guide for you. The Super Formula to Fight Aging – Its Name is Astaxanthin -Know more Oilgae comprehensive report has been designed for entrepreneurs and investors keen […]

As one might be aware, algae are important bioremediation agents, and are already being used as a potential avenue for waste water treatment by many facilities. This blog briefs some of the  research efforts and global activities on algae based waste water treatment that has taken place in the past few years. Efforts by Worldwide […]