Lipid Production From POME

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is one of the wastewaters with the highest organic content which can be converted into useful materials.Improper discharge may create adverse effects to the environment.Conventional treatment including the use of ponding systems which requires large scale of land,biological treatment is insufficient to solve the problem. Microalgae are known to assimilate organic pollutants into cellular constituents and grow on non-arable land with high aerial productivity. Therefore,this study was conducted to find an alternative method to balance between environmental protection and sustainable reuse of nutrient available in POME.Initial study includes screening and isolation of microalgae from POME. Studies on the effect of photo periods,Carbon:Total Nitrogen ratio and organic loading rate on the lipid production and biomass were performed.A 5 litre laboratory scale reactor known as Hybrid Photo-Bioreactor was fabricated and used.In conclusion,highest lipid production from Chlorella pyrenoidosa in POME required low nitrogen concentration with C:TN ratio of 100:6, under continuous illumination of 24 hours and low organic loading rate of 36 kg COD/m3.d.