Effect of pH and alum dosage on the efficiency of microalgae harvesting via flocculation technique |
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| Authors: | Paran Gani Norshuhaila Mohamed Sunar Hazel Matias-Peralta Ab Aziz Abdul Latiff |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Water and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia;2. Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia;3. Department of Technology and Heritage, Faculty of Science, Technology and Human Development, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia |
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| Abstract: | Microalgae biomass is well known as a potential sustainable product for bio-based industry, which has reported encountering numerous difficulties during biomass harvesting and recovering. This study examined the effect of pH (5–12) and alum dosage (30–180 mg/L) for microalgae Botryococcus sp. harvested via flocculation technique. The optimum pH condition for Botryococcus sp. harvesting was measured to be 9.2, and the alum dosage was 100 mg/L. Both optimum values successfully harvested up to 95% microalgae biomass. This study revealed that flocculation efficiencies for alum are highly dependent on the range of pH and coagulant dosage that were applied during the process. Use of flocculation technique with alum as a coagulant represents a convenient technique for Botryococcus sp. biomass harvesting and is recommended for use in both small- and large-scale biomass industries. |
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| Keywords: | Alum flocculation harvesting efficiency microalgae pH |
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