Efeito da razão carbono:nitrogênio no cultivo heterotrófico de cianobactérias unicelulares e filamentosas em vinhaça de cana-de-açúcar

Abstract

Several researches suggests heterotrophic metabolism in some strains of cyanobacteria, allowing its application in the development and consumption of organic molecules and nutrients in wastewater. Vinasse is the main wastewater from sugarcane processing, both in terms of composition and volume, and this presents a considerable variation in chemical composition, directly affecting their relationship carbon:nitrogen (C/N). Aphanocapsa holsatica is a unicellular cyanobacterium with proven foto-heterotrophic growth. Geitlerinema sp it is a filamentous cyanobacterium that has the ability to form aggregates, sedimenting in culture medium. In this context, the study aimed to evaluate the cultivation of cyanobacteria in sugarcane vinasse adjusted with different initial C/N ratio. The experiments were firstly set up in shake flasks for screening of the C/N ratio that allowed the largest biomass production and/or carbon and nitrogen uptakes. In the C/N ratio selected, experiments were set up in a bench bioreactor, with aeration and mixing, in addition to online monitoring of pH and gases. Results showed growth of both microorganisms to the C/N ratio range tested, with high productivities in 5 and 40 and larger carbon and nitrogen removal by Geitlerinema. In the bench bioreactor, Aphanocapsa presents low oxygen demand, carbon and nitrogen removal about 25 and 18%, respectively, and a maximum specific growth rate about five times higher (0.5 h-1) obtained in the shake flasks. For Geitlerinema sp, in C/N ratio 5 presents carbon consumer first-order kinetics, enabled high removals around 85%. Experimental data indicate the feasibility of growing in both cyanobacteria vinasse in the C N ratio range from 5 to 40, with high conversion of biomass to unicellular cyanobacterium and high carbon removal for filamentous cyanobacterium.