Nannochloropsis oculata growth in produced water: an alternative for massive microalgae biomass production

Abstract

Produced water (PW), extracted as a petroleum byproduct, presents high contents of impurities and, therefore, must be treated before being released into the environment. This clean-up process increases oil production costs. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can produce biofuels and treat effluents. This work tested the viability of growing marine microalgae species in culture medium with PW. In the first experiment, the marine microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata was inoculated in culture media containing different concentrations (0, 50, and 100%) of PW. In the second experiment, the N. oculata adapted to grow in PW was re-inoculated into media with different proportions of this effluent (0, 50, and 100%) to evaluate a possible adaptation. N. oculata presented significant growth in diluted and pure PW. However, pre-adaptation did not result in higher biomass production. These results indicate that N. oculata can grow in this effluent and generate bio-products.