Mixotrophic microalgal-biofilm reactor augmenting biomass and biofuel productivity

The present work aimed to evaluate the mixotrophic growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in a microalgal-biofilm reactor (MBR) using waste glycerol as an organic carbon source. The biomass productivity of C. pyrenoidosa (10.14 g m^-2 d^-1) under the mixotrophic mode was remarkably higher than that observed during the phototrophic mode (4.16 g m^-2 d^-1), under similar incubation conditions. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 d was found optimal for the higher productivity of microalgae in the MBR. Notably, based on biofuel quality, mixotrophically grown microalgal biomass was noted to have better suitability for biomethane production compared to biodiesel. Besides, up to 98.09, 75.74, and 55.86% removal of phosphate, nitrate, and COD, respectively, was recorded within 6 d under mixotrophic growth. Overall, the present findings magnificently demonstrate the efficient recycling of waste glycerol for higher biomass production coupled with phycoremediation using mixotrophic MBR.