Algae treatment

Algae treatment

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Other name/s

Algae ponds, High Rate Algae Ponds (HRAPs), Bioremediation using macroalgae

Description:

The cultivation and subsequent harvest of freshwater or saline macroalgae provides a way to sequester and remove nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) as a component of the biomass of macroalgae.

The algal biomass removes the nutrients and the harvested biomass can be used for various bio-products of value, such as energy, oils, fertiliser, soil amendment and stock feed.

Macroalgae is usually cultivated in a mechanical treatment system.

The bioremediation system is robust, deals with high and very low nutrient regimes including variable loads and has been tested in various freshwater waste streams. A strength is the ability to quantify the nutrients removed and to deliver end-use value of these nutrients and the biomass offsetting the cost of treatment[1]. Its use in agriculture systems like cane and horticulture has not been demonstrated.

The main services that Algae treatment provides include:

• Water treatment (nutrients)
• Reuse of by-products

References

1. ^ Cole, AJ, de Nys, R & Paul, NA (2015), 'Biorecovery of nutrient waste as protein in freshwater macroalgae', Algal Research, vol. 7, pp. 58-65.

Last updated: 5 October 2018