Productivity and competitive dominance of freshwater filamentous macroalgal cultivars for nutrient bioremediation of primary municipal wastewater

Abstract

Algal bioremediation using macroalgae is a promising approach to wastewater treatment. This study compared the productivity and bioremediation performance of the freshwater filamentous algal cultivars; Klebsormidium flaccidum, Oedogonium calcareum, and Oedogonium sp., in primary municipal wastewater in outdoor high-rate filamentous algal pond mesocosms. K. flaccidum had the highest biomass productivity (3.09 g dry weight m-2 day-1 + 0.20 SE) and bioremediation performance, reducing total ammoniacal-N by 51% to 14.80 mg L-1 (+ 0.81 SE), nitrate-N by 59% to 0.30 mg L-1 (+ 0.02 SE), and dissolved reactive phosphorous by 15% to 3.52 mg L-1 (+ 0.07 SE). This cultivar achieved the greatest reductions in total suspended solids (54%), carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (93%), and chemical oxygen demand (74%). K. flaccidum and Oedogonium sp. reduced Escherichia coli by 98%. Competitive dominance of K. flaccidum and Oedogonium sp. was assessed in bicultures at three stocking densities. By day 12, K. flaccidum’s proportion increased from 50 to 64% (+ 6.1 SE) and 73% (+ 5.0 SE) at a stocking density of 0.25 g and 0.5 g FW L-1, respectively. Based on superior biomass productivity, bioremediation performance, and competitive dominance, K. flaccidum was identified as a target cultivar for bioremediation of primary municipal wastewater.