Cultivation of microalgae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata in bench scale using medium contaminated with heavy metals

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the growth of microalgae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata amid growing alternative NPK (20:05:20) contaminated with heavy metals. The first treatment consists of the control without addition of dopant, while others were infected with AlCl₃, FeSO₄ e ZnSO₄ and the three metals. Of the results obtained, the control was the only one that showed continued positive growth, while all metal-containing treatment had a higher density and a higher rate of exponential growth. Treatment contaminated with ZnSO₄ had the lowest production potential. Despite the figures, all treatments showed positive growth at the end of the test, so it is possible to assign a high potential for microalgae production in water contaminated by metals.

Keywords:
wastewater; bioremediation; Chlorophyceae; exponential growth; algal density