Microalgal solutions in Nordic conditions – industries transition toward resource recovery

Congratulations to AMRI PhD student Lina Mattsson, who has just earned her doctorate defending her thesis, “Microalgal solutions in Nordic conditions – industries transition toward resource recovery?”

Read the full thesis here: https://lnu-se-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/75a785/TN_cdi_swepub_primary_oai_DiVA_org_lnu_111602

From abstract:

“Microalgal solutions can through photosynthesis recover greenhouse gas (CO2) and nutrients from industrial waste, reducing climate footprint and eutrophication. An added value to the process is algal biomass containing lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates with commercial potential for biofuel, feed, and fertilizer. Microalgal cultivation in Nordic conditions is challenged by strong seasonality in light and temperature that can compromise biomass stability. To make microalgal cultivation sustainable and competitive with conventional feedstock, large-scale outdoor cultivation using waste streams is necessary but limits control over seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions. In this thesis, I used a polyculture approach in outdoor large-scale cultivations with industrial waste resources, to study biomass production and quality in an annual, seasonal, and diurnal perspective. Research focused on the biomass potential for nutrient recovery and carbon capture from industries, year around stability and quality. Production was tested in the South Baltic Region using a brackish water polyculture grown for five years in a green wall panel (GWP) fed with cement industry flue gas (CO2 source). In a second setup, a freshwater polyculture was cultivated seasonally in raceway ponds (RWP), with an additional waste resource from landfill leachate water (nitrogen source).”

External reviewer: Dr Kristian Spilling, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Finland
Examining committee: Professor Yagut Allaverdiyeva-Rinne, University of Turku, Finland
Docent Anna Augustsson, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University
Dr Michael Li, Norsk institutt for vannforskning (NIV A), Norway
Chairperson: Associate senior lecturer Markus Zöttl, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University
Main supervisor: Professor Catherine Legrand, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University
Examiner: Professor Mark Dopson, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University