Harvesting marine microalgae Tetraselmis sp. using cellulose acetate membrane

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 399; p. 130622
• Main Authors: Fahrina, Afrillia, Fahrurrozi, Fahrurrozi, Munandar, Hendra, Fahmi, Varian, Thongratkaew, Sutarat, Faungnawakij, Kajornsak, Roil Bilad, Muhammad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Anti-Fouling Performance; Aquaculture Feedstock; Cellulose - analogs & derivatives; Cellulose Acetate; Chlorophyta; Filtration; Microalgae; Microalgae Harvesting; Polymers; Sustainable Membrane; Tetraselmis sp; Anti-Fouling Performance; Tetraselmis sp; Sustainable Membrane; Microalgae Harvesting; Aquaculture Feedstock; Cellulose Acetate
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130622

[Display omitted] •The developed CA membrane was proven efficient for microalgae harvesting.•It showed a high harvesting efficiency with full biomass retention.•It had a high permeability and low membrane fouling resistance.•Ca-based membrane was proven sustainable and eco-friendly with low fouling. This study presents the development and application of a cellulose acetate phase-inversion membrane for the efficient harvesting of Tetraselmis sp., a promising alternative for aquaculture feedstock. Once fabricated, the cellulose acetate membrane was characterized, and its performance was evaluated through the filtration of Tetraselmis sp. broth. The results demonstrated that the developed membrane exhibited exceptional microalgae harvesting efficiency. It showed a low intrinsic resistance and a high clean water permeability of 1100 L/(m2·h·bar), enabling high-throughput filtration of Tetraselmis sp. culture with a permeability of 400 L/(m2·h·bar) and a volume reduction factor of 2.5 ×. The cellulose acetate -based membrane demonstrated robust filtration performance over a 7-day back concentration filtration with minimum irreversible fouling of only 22.5 % irreversibility even without any cleaning. These results highlighted the potential of cellulose acetate as a versatile base polymer for custom-membrane for microalgae harvesting.