Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Quantification of Heavy Metals and Other Inorganic Contaminants on the Productivity of Microalgae
Published on: July 10, 2015
High-efficiency harvesting of microalgae enabled by chitosan-coated magnetic biochar
Kai-Xuan Huang1, Ashiwin Vadiveloo2, Hua Zhong3
1School of Petrochemical Engineering & Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316000, China; Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo 315200, China.
Abstract:
Magnetic flocculation which uses magnetic particles is an emerging technology for harvesting microalgae. However, the potential modification and use of cost-effective and sustainable biochar-based composites is still in its infancy. As such, this study aimed to compare the harvesting efficiency of peanut shell biochar (BC), biochar modified with FeCl3 (FeBC), and biochar dual-modified with chitosan and FeCl3 (CTS@FeBC) on microalgae. The results showed CTS@FeBC exhibited significantly higher microalgae harvesting efficiency compared to BC and FeBC. Both acidic and alkaline conditions were favorable for harvesting microalgae by CTS@FeBC. At pH 2 and pH 12, the harvesting efficiency reached 96.9% and 98.8% within 2 min, respectively. The primary adsorption mechanism of CTS@FeBC on microalgae mainly involved electrostatic attraction and sweeping flocculation. Furthermore, CTS@FeBC also showed good biocompatibility and reusability. This study clearly demonstrated a promising technique for microalgae harvesting using biochar-based materials, offering valuable insights and potential applications in sustainable bioresource management.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Other Unique Bacteria
Microbial Mats
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles
Marine Microbial Ecology
Microbial Bioremediation of Uranium
Microbial Leaching

