TY - JOUR

T1 - Removal of Phenolic Compounds from Olive Mill Wastewater by Microalgae Grown Under Dark and Light Conditions

AU - Lindner, Astrid

AU - Pleissner, Daniel

N1 - The authors acknowledge the financial support from the ERA-Net Cofound Action –under H2020—and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for carrying out the research project “Era CoBioTech 1: Biovalorization of olive mill wastewater (OMW) to microbial lipids and other products via Rhodotorula glutinis fermentation (Rhodolive, 031B0607A)”.

PY - 2022/1/1

Y1 - 2022/1/1

N2 - Phenolic compounds in olive mill wastewater (OMW) are considered an environmental threat due to their antimicrobial properties. Because of the metabolic versatility of microalgae, a biotic removal of these compounds seems a suitable approach. To investigate the biotic removal of phenolic compounds, the three microalgae species Chlorella vulgaris, Acutodesmus obliquus and Monoraphidium braunii were cultivated in flasks under constant light (50 µmol/m2s) and dark (1 g/L glucose) conditions in presence of different concentrations of OMW. Addition of 1% (v/v) OMW to the culture medium was shown to be non-inhibitory or even growth enhancing, and phenolic compounds were removed by 7–21% by all tested species. Cultivations with 6% (v/v) OMW resulted in a few exceptional experiments in fast growth (C. vulgaris under light, M. braunii under dark conditions) and removal of phenolic compounds (M. braunii, dark). Higher percentages (12 and 25%, v/v) of OMW were inhibitory. Under dark conditions microalgae first consumed glucose and removed phenolic compounds in a diauxic process. Removal of phenolic compounds was favoured under light conditions. Results of this study reveal the opportunities and the challenges of a microalgae-based removal of phenolic compounds and valorization of toxic OMW. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

AB - Phenolic compounds in olive mill wastewater (OMW) are considered an environmental threat due to their antimicrobial properties. Because of the metabolic versatility of microalgae, a biotic removal of these compounds seems a suitable approach. To investigate the biotic removal of phenolic compounds, the three microalgae species Chlorella vulgaris, Acutodesmus obliquus and Monoraphidium braunii were cultivated in flasks under constant light (50 µmol/m2s) and dark (1 g/L glucose) conditions in presence of different concentrations of OMW. Addition of 1% (v/v) OMW to the culture medium was shown to be non-inhibitory or even growth enhancing, and phenolic compounds were removed by 7–21% by all tested species. Cultivations with 6% (v/v) OMW resulted in a few exceptional experiments in fast growth (C. vulgaris under light, M. braunii under dark conditions) and removal of phenolic compounds (M. braunii, dark). Higher percentages (12 and 25%, v/v) of OMW were inhibitory. Under dark conditions microalgae first consumed glucose and removed phenolic compounds in a diauxic process. Removal of phenolic compounds was favoured under light conditions. Results of this study reveal the opportunities and the challenges of a microalgae-based removal of phenolic compounds and valorization of toxic OMW. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

KW - Microalgae

KW - Olive mill wastewater

KW - Phenolic compounds

KW - Removal

KW - Biology

KW - Chemistry

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112029475&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/c856328c-f573-38b7-838a-74d581704204/

U2 - 10.1007/s12649-021-01536-5

DO - 10.1007/s12649-021-01536-5

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85112029475

VL - 13

SP - 525

EP - 534

JO - Waste and Biomass Valorization

JF - Waste and Biomass Valorization

SN - 1877-2641

IS - 1

ER -