Growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in wastewater from cassava ethanol fermentation

In a cycle tubular photobioreactor, Chlorella pyrenoidosa was cultured in undiluted wastewater from ethanol fermentation using cassava powder as raw material. The results showed that the optimum cultivation conditions were initial pH of 6.0, temperature at 27°C, continuous illumination at 3,000 lux, and cycle speed of 110 ml min⁻¹. Under these optimum conditions, after the logarithmic phase of batch cultivation with wastewater of pH 6.0, the reactor could be continuously operated with natural pH wastewater (3.8) as feed solution. By a dilution ratio of 0.17 day⁻¹, it could be operated stably for over 30 days in continuous cultivation. pH, removal rate of chemical oxygen demand, and biomass (cell dry weight) concentration ranged from 6.22 to 6.47, 72.21 to 76.32% and 3.55 to 3.73 g l⁻¹, respectively. After treatment, the wastewater could be used again in the process of ethanol fermentation.