Algae Systems in Wastewater Treatment

 

Images of Integrated algal pond system showing (a) first stage Facultative Pond and (b) High rate Algal Pond at the Environmental Biotechnology Research Unit at Rhodes University

 

Resources listed below have been created by a team of experts (B Marsalek, K Cowan, M Hamid, R Sladek, PJ Harvey)<link to Marsalek, Cowan, Hamid, Harvey, Sladek on the Partners and Contributors tab> to support Continuing Professional Development for post- graduate training or for those with broad professional experience in the field.  Some of these are password protected, but will be made available on application.

• Introduction to the use of algae in wastewater treatment processes (password protected) <Topic 1 >
• Wastewater chemistry (password protected) <Topic 2 >
• Practical aspects of sampling, isolating and cultivating algae from the field (password protected) <Topic 3 >
• Algal identification for practical applications (password protected) <Topic 4 >
• The ecology, growth kinetics and population dynamics of algae used in wastewater treatment processes (password protected) <Topic 5 >
• Metabolic activities and nutrient requirements of wastewater algae (password protected) <Topic 6 >
• Role of bacteria and other microorganisms in wastewater treatment and their interaction and impact on algal physiology (password protected) <Topic 7>
• Algal wastewater processing in a biorefinery: techno-economic and environmental impacts (password protected) <Topic 8 >

 

Video resources (The latest version of Windows Media Player is needed to view these videos). Please note the file will download to your local computer. You will then need to open the file in Windows Media Player to view it.

• Where to sample water bodies and why
• Taking pond samples
• Measuring pH value and conductivity in flowing water
• Measuring pH value and conductivity in standing water
• Measuring O2 with an oxygen electrode and temperature as a function of pond depth in an algae integrated wastewater treatment plant
• Measuring nitrate
• Measuring ammonia
• Measuring water transparency
• Measuring photosynthetic activity with an Aquapen
• Sampling for zooplankton
• Taking microalgae samples for isolation
• Cultivation of algae on an agar plate

 

Full details of the training course are supplied in Course description < wastewater course description.pdf>. The training course will help you to:

 

• Explain the contribution of algae in wastewater treatment processes and describe the role of bacteria and other micro-organisms in wastewater treatment
• Describe algal wastewater process requirements
• Demonstrate how to obtain a profile of wastewater with respect to the main environmental parameters relevant for supporting algal growth (phosphate, nitrate, COD, O2 profile, pH value)
• Describe the practical requirements needed to sample algae in the field
• Demonstrate how to isolate and cultivate algae with potential for wastewater treatment
• Discuss the opportunities for processing wastewater in the context of biotechnology and algal biorefineries