Potential of Chlorella vulgaris culture for waste treatment from anaerobic biomass biodigestion at the Piaszczyna (Poland) integrated facility.

Many strains of microalgae are potentially useful for industrial purposes. Microalgal biomass and microalgae-derived substances are becoming valuable products with a widening range of applications including biofuels and human food. In this study, the possibility of using the methane waste from biomass biodigestion in the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris biomass with simultaneous waste treatment was investigated. The methane waste from biomass biodigestion was obtained from a multifunctional facility (Piaszczyna, Poland) producing bioethanol from plant biomass with several steps to reuse the wastes, heat, and carbon dioxide. The growth and biomass yield, as well as photosynthetic performance of C. vulgaris on diluted waste, were similar to the results obtained on the standard mineral medium. The cultivation of C. vulgaris was the waste, treatment step that significantly reduced chemical oxygen demand. The results indicated that the waste contained micro- and macronutrients sufficient to sustain the growth of C. vulgaris cell culture up to 2 g of dry biomass per liter of culture. The results contributed to the development of the waste treatment step in the Piaszczyna facility that allowed for a further decrease in emissions and may lead to development of microalgae biomass-based products in the facility portfolio.