Microalgal lipids production and nutrients recovery from landfill leachate using membrane photobioreactor.

Graphical abstract Highlights • A SM-PBR was constructed for nutrients recovery from LL and lipids production. • The membrane module can protect microalgae cells from LL contamination. • Excess phosphate feeding increased lipid content but decreased biomass production. • N recovery and lipids production were boosted in the SM-PBR than traditional PBR. Abstract The aim of this work was to realize high-efficiency nutrients recovery from landfill leachate (LL) for microalgal lipids production. Negative effects of LL on microalgal lipid synthesis was revealed and a scalable membrane-based tubular photobioreactor (SM-PBR) was proposed to offset these negative effects. Microalgal biomass concentration was improved from 0 g/L in the traditional PBR to 2.13 g/L in the SM-PBR. Major operating conditions were optimized to enhance nutrients recovery and lipid productivity. The maximum N recovery efficiency of 74.31% and the maximum daily lipid production of 404.98 mg/d were obtained under the volume ratio of 5:3 (microalgae culture/LL stream) and phosphate feeding concentration of 50 mg/L. The obtained lipid was convinced to have a good combustion and anti-degradation property, with high cetane number (>52%) and low linolenic acid content (<12%). The SM-PBR provided a feasible approach for large-scale microalgal lipid production with LL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]