Chlorella vulgaris Growth for Phosphate Removal and Biomass Productivity Utilizing Kenosha Wastewater — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Chlorella vulgaris Growth for Phosphate Removal and Biomass Productivity Utilizing Kenosha Wastewater

Name: Amanda Eness
Major: Environmental Science
Hometown: Grayslake IL
Faculty Sponsor: Sarah Rubinfeld
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

As population increases, so does the demand for water resources and sustainable fuel. Promising new research is used to explore merging wastewater nutrient removal and the development of renewable fuels such as microalgae biofuels. Advances have been made in microalgae biofuels to not only yield a renewable fuel but algae grown can be used for a variety of uses including: wastewater treatment, pharmaceutical applications, and as a fertilizer. The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of how algae interact in wastewater including phosphate nutrient removal and biomass growth. Chlorella vulgaris was grown in Kenosha County wastewater to determine the step in the wastewater treatment process that is most optimal for algae growth and water treatment. Conditions such as temperature, light, air and CO₂ were controlled in an incubator set up at Carthage College. The algae was grown in waste activated sludge centrate, dewatered centrate and final treated wastewater. Phosphate removal was recorded and biomass of the algae was determined throughout the experiment. Further experiments can be done to explore these results along with investigating algae’s interaction with wastewater sources, optimal conditions for growth, and biodiesel applications.

Poster file