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An Experimental Investigation Of Microalgal Dewatering Efficiency Of Belt Filter System, Anjali Sandip, Val H. Smith, Terry N. Faddis

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to investigate the microalgal dewatering efficiency of a belt filter system for feed concentrations below 10 g dry wt./L. A prototype belt filtration system designed for 50 g dry wt./L microalgal feed concentration was used for this investigation. The highest concentration of microalgal suspension available for testing on the prototype belt filtration system was 6 g dry wt./L obtained from biomass settling tanks at the Lawrence, Kansas domestic wastewater treatment plant. For preparation of feed suspension with concentrations below 10 g dry wt./L, microalgal cultivation was followed by flocculation. A mixed laboratory culture of …