Enhancing microalgae-based biofuels production, wastewater treatment and bio-products generation by synergistic effect of iron and zinc addition to real municipal wastewater.

The feasibility of microalgae-based biofuel production is still unclear due to the high cost and energy consumption. In order to be competitive with traditional fuels, the price per unit biofuel produced should be reduced by improving microalgal cells quality for higher biofuels productivity as well as enhancing microalgae other advantages such as wastewater treatment (WWT) and CO 2 bio-fixation. In this research, the synergistic effect of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) addition to municipal wastewater (MWW) on Chlorella sorokiniana Pa.91 performance was investigated in terms of biomass productivity, WWT, bio-products generation and biofuel quality. According to the result, maximum biomass concentration of 1.1, 1.49, 1.36 and 1.9 mg/L were achieved after 10 days C. sorokiniana cultivation in MWW before and after addition of Fe (9 mg/L), Zn (1 mg/L) and combined Zn/Fe (6/0.5 mg/L), respectively. It was observed that the nutrients uptake ability of microalgal cells improved by pre-treatment with Fe/Zn, as the mass balance of COD, NH 4 and PO 4 3- increased from 104.5, 13.6 and 2.9 to 111.6, 16.6 and 3.78 mg per 1 g C. sorokiniana, respectively. By adding Fe/Zn, the lipid content increased from 25 to 33 % CDW, while, no significant changes were observed in the protein and carbohydrate content. The results revealed that the fatty acid composition (i.e. SFA and MUFA content) and biofuel quality of C. sorokiniana remarkability enhanced after Fe/Zn supplementation. Overall, our finding suggested that MWW enrichment with combined Fe and Zn at an appropriate dosage is a promising approach for improving microalgae performance in particular increasing biofuel production quantity and quality.