1. UKM Learning and Research Repository
2. PHD Thesis / Tesis PHD
3. Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment / Fakulti Kejuruteraan dan Alam Bina

Title:	Phycoremediation and carbon dioxide fixation of palm oil mill effluent with native isolated microalgae
Authors:	Kamrul Fakir Kamarudin (P80205)
Supervisor:	Mohd Sobri Takriff, Prof. Ir. Dr.
Keywords:	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia -- Dissertations Dissertations, Academic -- Malaysia Palm oil mill effluent Microalgae
Issue Date:	25-Jun-2020
Description:	Malaysia is a major producer of palm oil in the world. It is estimated that every 1 tonne of fresh fruit bunch (FFB), 0.65 m3 of palm oil mill effluents (POME) is generated, and it is estimated that 49.9- 74.9 million tons of POME is generated in 2015. POME has high concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matters. This study is focusing on four main objectives which are isolation, characterization and identification of the native microalgae from agro-industrial waste environment, application on phycoremediation process using the isolated microalgae. The potential of microalgae in carbon dioxide sequestration and production of bio-hydrogen through biomass fermentation application has also been one of the main focus in this study. Serial dilution and spread plate technique was applied to isolate and purify the microalgae until single colonies was obtained. Morphological and molecular identification with genomic analysis were applied in the identification of microalgae strains. Phycoremediation of POME by isolated microalgae was screen through United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Reactor Digestion method for COD, Persulfate Digestion method for TN and Standard Method for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (4500 B-C) for TP. CO2 sequestration rate was measured by Quantek Analysers with solid-state infrared sensor which can detect the CO2 concentration up to 100% and carbon estimation analysis from CHNS analyzer. CO2 concentration was set ranging from ambient air concentration to 15% (v/v %). In biomass utilization, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to screen the sugar and volatile fatty acid in the POME and gas chromatography (GC) was used to quantify the hydrogen produced. Result from isolation process revealed that 2 species successfully identified with genomic analysis, which are Chlorella sp. UKM8 and Scenedesimus sp. UKM9, which were isolated from East Mill Carrey Island and Batu Anam Mill respectively. With pre-treated POME as a growth medium, Chlorella sp. UKM8, Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 showed similar specific growth rate (μmax) at 0.4096 and 0.3505 day-1 respectively. However. Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 requires longer adaptation with 4 generation of POME cultivation and produced less biomass with maximum yield at 0.439 gL-1. Chlorella sp. UKM8 exhibits better phycoremediation in COD, TN and TP reduction with 54.8%, 58.4% and 53.2% while Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 was 37.2%, 44.4%, 41.7% reduction respectively. For CO2 sequestration Chlorella sp. UKM8 and Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 achieved highest fixation rate 0.4289gL-1 day-1 at CO2 15% and 0.3039 gL-1 day-1 at CO2 15%. Significant hydrogen production was observed with Chlorella spp. UKM8 and Scenedesmus sp. UKM9 at 0.716 and 0.48 mmol H2/mmol sugar respectively. As a conclusion, two new species of microalgae have been successfully isolated from wastewater environment. They were Chlorella spp. UKM8 and Scenedesmus sp. UKM9. These new microalgae, especially Chlorella spp. UKM8 showed a good performance similar to commercial strain of C. vulgaris in conducting phycoremediation of POME as well as CO2 fixation process. Microalgae biomass also present an opportunity as additional carbon sources for biohydrogen production. Thus, it can be concluded that native microalgae present a huge potential for an alternative of POME treatment, a carbon fixation agent, as well as feed stock for the production of biohydrogen.,Ph.D.
Pages:	189
Publisher:	UKM, Bangi
Appears in Collections:	Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment / Fakulti Kejuruteraan dan Alam Bina

Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.