Comparative study of the efficiency of removal of N and P of municipal wastewater and leached of vermicomposting with five strains of micro algae

The use of microalgae for bioremediation of wastewater and organic leachates has been the subject of numerous investigations due to its capacity to remove significant amounts of nitrates and phosphates. In addition, to generate microalgal biomass with added value for its commercial interest. In this work we studied the removal of N and P municipal wastewater by five species of native microalgae, Chlorella miniata, Coelastrella sp., Desmodesmus quadricauda, Neochloris oleoabundans, Verrucodesmus verrucosus. The experiments in 16 L glass photo bioreactors were carried out in triplicate with 12:12 light: darkness, 25 +/- 1 degrees C Every three days, samples of 10 mL were taken in the cultures, to determine the concentration of N, P and cell density. The five-selected species demonstrated high removal efficiency of N (NH4+) between 87 and 100%; while there was a moderate efficiency of removal of P (PO4-3) between 18 and 69%. The ANOVA showed significant differences between the growth rates (F = 6.85, p = 0.0001). V. verrucosus was selected to evaluate its growth in alternative media and to be immobilized in alginate. The ANOVA test does not show significant differences between the free and immobilized cultures. Both technologies constitute an efficient alternative for bioremediation of municipal effluents.