Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (1): add | show Print this page
one publication added to basket [324647]
Harvesting of marine microalgae using cationic cellulose nanocrystals
Verfaillie, A.; Blockx, J.; Praveenkumar, R.; Thielemans, W.; Muylaert, K. (2020). Harvesting of marine microalgae using cationic cellulose nanocrystals. Carbohydrate Polymers 240: 116165. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116165
In: Carbohydrate Polymers. Elsevier SCI Ltd: Oxford. ISSN 0144-8617; e-ISSN 1879-1344, more
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
Keyword
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    marine microalgae; cellulose nanocrystals; biobased flocculants
Authors  Top 
  • Verfaillie, A., more
  • Blockx, J., more
  • Praveenkumar, R., more
  • Thielemans, W., more
  • Muylaert, K., more
Abstract
    Flocculation of marine microalgae is challenging because of the high ionic strength of the culture medium. We investigated cationic cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as biobased flocculants for the marine microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata, and compared its performance to chitosan. Cationic CNCs induced flocculation at a low dose of 11 mg L-1, while chitosan required a dose of 35 mg L-1. Our cationic CNCs possess a permanent positive charge, allowing flocculation over a wide pH-range (4 to 10). The CNC maximum flocculation efficiency was 90 %, while chitosan achieved > 95 %, attributed to small flocs remaining in suspension for CNCs. However, centrifugation for 1 min at 180 g or gravity filtration using a 30 μm nylon filter after CNC flocculation resulted in the removal of these small, stable flocs (∼150 μm diam) and > 95% harvesting efficiency. Cationic CNCs can thus serve as a sustainable alternative natural flocculant for harvesting both freshwater and marine microalgae.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors