Microalgae consortia cultivation in dairy wastewater to improve the potential of nutrient removal and biodiesel feedstock production

The potential of microalgae consortia used in dairy wastewater treatment combined with microalgae biodiesel feedstock production was evaluated by comparing the nutrient removal of dairy wastewater, the growth of cells, and the lipid content and composition of biomass between monoalgae and microalgae consortia cultivation system. Our results showed that higher chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (maximum, 57.01–62.86 %) and total phosphorus (TP) removal (maximum, 91.16–95.96 %) were achieved in almost microalgae consortia cultivation system than those in Chlorella sp. monoalgae cultivation system (maximum, 44.76 and 86.74 %, respectively). In addition, microalgae consortia cultivation except the mixture of Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus spp. reached higher biomass concentration (5.11–5.41 g L−1), biomass productivity (730.4–773.2 mg L−1 day−1), and lipid productivity (143.7–150.6 mg L−1 day−1) than those of monoalgae cultivation (4.72 g L−1, 674.3, and 142.2 mg L−1 day−1, respectively) on the seventh day. Furthermore, the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles indicated the lipids produced from microalgae consortia cultivation system were more suitable for biodiesel production. The microalgae consortia display superiority in dairy wastewater treatment and the getting feedstock for biodiesel production.