Publication
Title
Valorization of flue gas by combining photocatalytic gas pretreatment with microalgae production
Author
Abstract
Utilization of flue gas for algae cultivation seems to be a promising route because flue gas from fossil-fuel combustion processes contains the high amounts of carbon (CO2) and nitrogen (NO) that are required for algae growth. NO is a poor nitrogen source for algae cultivation because of its low reactivity and solubility in water and its toxicity for algae at high concentrations. Here, we present a novel strategy to valorize NO from flue gas as feedstock for algae production by combining a photocatalytic gas pretreatment unit with a microalgal photobioreactor. The photocatalytic air pretreatment transforms NO gas into NO2 gas and thereby enhances the absorption of NO in the cultivation broth. The absorbed NOx will form NO2- and NO3- that can be used as a nitrogen source by algae. The effect of photocatalytic air pretreatment on the growth and biomass productivity of the algae Thalassiosira weissflogii in a semicontinuous system aerated with a model flue gas (1% CO2 and 50 ppm of NO) is investigated during a long-term experiment. The integrated system makes it possible to produce algae with NO from flue gas as the sole nitrogen source and reduces the NOx content in the exhaust gas by 84%.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Environmental science and technology / American Chemical Society. - Easton, Pa
Publication
Easton, Pa : 2016
ISSN
0013-936X [print]
1520-5851 [online]
DOI
10.1021/ACS.EST.5B04824
Volume/pages
50 :5 (2016) , p. 2538-2545
ISI
000371371700048
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Bio-template silica titania diatoms for gas phase photocatalysis.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.04.2016
Last edited 09.10.2023
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