A mutant strain of microalga Chlorella sp. for the carbon dioxide capture from biogas

To upgrade biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion of swine wastewater, an outdoor photobioreactor was established in this study. A mutant strain of microalga Chlorella sp. MM-2 was firstly isolated by ethyl methane sulfonate-induced random mutagenesis. The Chlorella sp. MM-2 grew in the presence of gas containing H2S < 100 ppm, and the growth capacity of the microalgal culture aerated with 80% CH4 was ∼70% that of the control culture (0% CH4). In the field study, CO2 capture efficiency of the Chlorella cultures, at a biomass concentration of 1.2 g L−1, from the desulfurized biogas (∼20% CO2, ∼70% CH4 and H2S < 100 ppm) was approximate 70% on cloudy days and 80% on sunny days. CH4 concentration in the effluent biogas from the Chlorella cultures was increased to approximate 84% on cloudy days and 87% on sunny days from its original 70%. The established outdoor photobioreactor system using a gas cycle-switching operation could be used as a CO2 capture model for biogas upgrading.

► An mutant microalga, Chlorella sp. MM-2, grew well in the presence of desulfurized biogas.
► The gas cycle-switching operation can capture approximate 50% of CO2 in the biogas.
► The gas cycle-switching operation can upgrade biogas of CH4 from 70% to 87%.