Evaluation of food wastes in Chlorella vulgaris cultivation for Remazol Brillant Blue R removal

Textile wastewater creates a serious threat to ecosystem and human health because of containing dyes, heavy metals and toxic substances. In the biological methods used for the treatment of textile wastewater, it is thought that algae are have the highest biosorption propertiesthanks to their large surface areas and binding abilities . In this context, in the thesis study, it was aimed to evaluate photoheterotrophic growth of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae with apple pomace and pumpkin waste sugar, which has not investigated before in the literature, and determine Remazol Brillant Blue R (RBBR) biosorption potential of microalgae. In the experiments carried out within the scope of thesis study, firstly photoautotrophic and photoheterotrophic cultivation conditions were examined for microalgal growth. To obtain the highest RBBR removal yield, important parameters affecting biosorption such as pH values (2-10), initial RBBR concentrations (100 - 800 mg/L), initial biomass concentrations (1 - 3 g/L) and biosorption time (0-120 minutes) were optimized. As a result of the study, the highest microalgal growth was determined as 0.502 g/L in photoheterotrophic condition containing 0.5 g/L pumpkin waste sugar. The highest dye removal was calculated as %99.49 in the presence of 3 g/L biosorbent and 103.38 mg/L RBBR dye concentration at pH 4. In the thesis study, the use of apple pomace and pumpkin waste sugar in the production of C. vulgaris biomass was shown for the first time in the literature. With the conducted study, it was determined that this microalgae has promising potential for both waste management and dye removal.