Potential of replacement of synthetic culture environment with pretreated leachate in the cultivation of microalgae to obtain biodiesel

• Grant number: 21/13750-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Patricia Caroline Molgero da Rós
• Grantee: Phydias Bianchi Pereira
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present project aims to evaluate the possibility of exploitation of pretreated leachate in replacement of the synthetic environment for the cultivation of oleaginous microorganisms to obtain biodiesel. The microalgae can significantly contribute to the development of a sustainable production model based on the cultivation of these microorganisms in agroindustrial effluents, domestic sewage, and landfill leachate, aiming the high added value biomass production and CO2 mitigation. The selected proposal for the work development comprises the lipid-producing microalgae culture as precursors for obtaining products from the energy sector (biodiesel), allowing the integration of processes and sustainability. Through this approach, it is possible to use a previously treated residue as growing to obtain microalgae biomass, reducing the process costs and increasing their viability. To achieve this goal, in the first stage, will be analyzed some leachate treatment strategies, such as the influence of peroxide concentration and radiation by hybrid advanced oxidative processes. After that, will be rated the growth performance of distinct microalgae lineage in different culture proportions of pretreated leachate and characterized its constituents. In the end, the microalgal biomass will be used to obtain biodiesel using heterogeneous catalysis as a catalytic route, which has as its main advantage the direct use of biomass without previous extraction from lipids. The contribution of the present project will be the development of national technologies in biotechnological and sustainable processes to obtain products of industrial interest. Furthermore, it will allow the enhancement of this research line in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Escola de Engenharia de Lorena from EEL-USP.(AU)