Cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in soybean processing wastewater

Chlorella pyrenoidosa was cultivated in soybean processing wastewater (SPW) in batch and fed-batch cultures without a supply of additional nutrients. The alga was able to remove 77.8 ± 5.7%, 88.8 ± 1.0%, 89.1 ± 0.6% and 70.3 ± 11.4% of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCODCr), total nitrogen (TN), NH4+-N and total phosphate (TP), respectively, after 120 h in fed-batch culture. C. pyrenoidosa attained an average biomass productivity of 0.64 g L−1 d−1, an average lipid content of 37.00 ± 9.34%, and a high lipid productivity of 0.40 g L−1 d−1. Therefore, cultivation of C. pyrenoidosa in SPW could yield cleaner water and useful biomass.