Newly identified algal strains rich in phosphorus could improve wastewater treatment

Phosphorus in wastewater is a major contributor to harmful algal blooms in water bodies around the globe, with the potential to harm wildlife, livestock, and even humans. To prevent this, wastewater treatment plants often rely on chemical- and energy-intensive techniques to remove phosphorus before it can impact downstream water bodies.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers sought to develop new technology for phosphorus removal from wastewater by maximizing the ability of algae to harness solar energy to efficiently accumulate and remove phosphorus from water, storing it inside the cell as polyphosphate.

The Revolving Algal Biofilm (RAB) system by Gross-Wen Technologies is an emerging technology that does just that. In the RAB system, phosphorus-laden algae are cultivated in wastewater attached to a revolving belt. The grown algal biomass can then be harvested from the belt and dried for use as agricultural fertilizer or as feedstock for the manufacture of biofuels and bioproducts. This process can help close the phosphorus-cycle loop by recycling and reusing the phosphorus in wastewater, decreasing demand on limited minable phosphorus resources.

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Taxonomy

• Algae
• Algae Treatment
• algae biotechnology
• Algal Blooms