Advanced treatment of toluene emissions with a cutting-edge algal bacterial photo-bioreactor: Performance assessment in a circular economy perspective

A novel approach for the treatment of VOCs (by using toluene used as a model compound) and the simultaneous con-version of carbon dioxide into valuable biomass has been investigated by using a combination of an activated sludge moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) and an algal photo-bioreactor (PBR).The first unit (MBBR, R1) promoted toluene removal up to 99.9 % for inlet load (IL) of 119.91 g m-3 d-1. The CO2 resulting from the degradation of toluene was then fixed in PBR (R2), with a fixation rate up to 95.8 %. The CO2 uptake was promoted by algae, with average production of algal biomass in Stage VI of 1.3 g L-1 d-1. In the contest of the circular economy, alternative sources of nutrients have been assessed, using synthetic urban wastewater (UWW) and dairy wastewater (DWW) for liquid renewal. The produced biomass with DWW showed a high lipid content, with a maximum productivity of 450.25 mg of lipids L-1 d-1. The solution proposed may be thus regarded as a sus-tainable and profitable strategy for VOCs treatment in a circular economy perspective.

Automated summary

A novel approach utilizing a combination of an activated sludge moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) and an algal photo-bioreactor (PBR) was investigated for the treatment of VOCs, specifically toluene, and the conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable biomass. The MBBR achieved up to 99.9% removal of toluene for a given inlet load. The resulting CO2 was effectively fixed in the PBR with a fixation rate of 95.8%, facilitated by algae and leading to an average production of algal biomass.