Parametric study of brewery wastewater effluent treatment using Chlorella vulgaris microalgae

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biomass and lipid production of Chlorella vulgaris and its nutrient removal capability for treatment of brewery wastewater effluent. The results indicate that the maximum biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (91.43%) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (83.11%) were removed by C. vulgaris with aeration in the absence of light. A maximum of 0.917 g/L of dry biomass was obtained with aeration in the dark conditions, which also demonstrated the highest amount of unsaturated fatty acids at 83.22%. However, the removal of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) with these aeration and light conditions was 9.7% and 11.86% greater than that of other conditions. The removal of BOD and COD and the production of biomass and lipids with aeration in the dark and the TN and TP removal with aeration and light were more effective than other conditions in the brewery wastewater effluent in the presence of C. vulgaris.