Biomassa de microalgas de uma lagoa de estabilização Facultativa: caracterização e uso para a obtenção de biocombustível

Abstract

The quantity of wastewater treatment plant using stabilization ponds has increased in Brazil. Thus, to help in the sustainability of the treatment process and to increase the quality of the effluent release into the receiving water, the biomass composed by microalgae formed during the treatment could be used for biofuel production. However, the characteristics of this biomass have to be determined. Therefore, this work aimed to do the taxonomic characterization of the microalgae species from the facultative stabilization pond (FSP) of the Wastewater Treatment Plant located in the Vila União, Palmas-TO, Brazil, along with the chemical characterization (e.g. total lipids, chemical characterization of the raw lipids by GC-MS analysis and total carbohydrate by the phenol sulphuric acid method) of the biomass. The effluent of the FSP is composed in large quantities by species belong to the Cyanobacteria and Euglenophyceae taxa. The raw lipids obtained presented values of 14.21% in relation to the dried biomass. The GC-MS analysis showed the presence of different chemical compounds with predominance of saturated fatty acids. The total carbohydrate was 3.49%. The high presence in a natural watercourse of the species found in this work can bring environmental and human problems. Thus, the obtainment of microalgal biomass from wastewater stabilization pound probably provides an economic and environmental gain.