TY - JOUR
T1 - Microalgae harvesting using flocculation and dissolved air flotation: Selecting the right vessel for lab-scale experiments
AU - Rao, N.R.H.
AU - Beyer, V.P.
AU - Henderson, R.K.
AU - Thielemans, W.
AU - Muylaert, K.
PY - 2023/3/3
Y1 - 2023/3/3
N2 - Flocculation combined with dissolved air flotation (DAF) is a promising technology for harvesting microalgae; therefore, optimisation of flocculant–DAF operating conditions are frequently explored in laboratory experiments. DAF systems have jars of differing volumes, height to diameter ratios, shapes and materials used to manufacture the jars; thus, the harvesting efficiency (η) may differ between these jars. The aim was to systematically compare η between different types of benchtop DAF jars. Evaluation of 30 different types of DAF jars revealed that η was not influenced by the volume of the jars, but was impacted by the height to diameter ratio, with optimal η at a ratio ranging between 1.6 and 2.05. There was no difference in η between cylindrical and cuboid jars, but jars made of hydrophobic (polypropylene) plastic resulted in a lower η. Overall, these results are useful to guide the design of lab-scale DAF microalgae harvesting experiments.
AB - Flocculation combined with dissolved air flotation (DAF) is a promising technology for harvesting microalgae; therefore, optimisation of flocculant–DAF operating conditions are frequently explored in laboratory experiments. DAF systems have jars of differing volumes, height to diameter ratios, shapes and materials used to manufacture the jars; thus, the harvesting efficiency (η) may differ between these jars. The aim was to systematically compare η between different types of benchtop DAF jars. Evaluation of 30 different types of DAF jars revealed that η was not influenced by the volume of the jars, but was impacted by the height to diameter ratio, with optimal η at a ratio ranging between 1.6 and 2.05. There was no difference in η between cylindrical and cuboid jars, but jars made of hydrophobic (polypropylene) plastic resulted in a lower η. Overall, these results are useful to guide the design of lab-scale DAF microalgae harvesting experiments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85149384069&partnerID=MN8TOARS
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960852423002122?via%3Dihub
U2 - 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128786
DO - 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128786
M3 - Article
SN - 0960-8524
VL - 374
JO - Bioresource Technology
JF - Bioresource Technology
M1 - 128786
ER -