Research Projects

The different method of harvesting microalgae is dissolve air flocculation, electro flocculation Flotation and chemical coagulation are extensively used in laboratories. Among the above stated method biopolymeric flocculation is one of the best methods owing to its low cost. The chemical coagulants (synthetic organic flocculant) have limited applicability due to its degradability and eco friendly issue. The green microalgae cells are very much stable due to its negative zeta potential and are not easy to dewater/separate them from the culture medium. The harvesting of algal cells is a challenging task and it accounts for 20-30% of the total production cost . Much work had already been published but an effective and low dose bioflocculant (biopolymeric) for microalgae is still under research. The present proposal is based on the development of new/novel functionalized biopolymer [through incorporation of N-(3-chloro-2-hydroxyl propyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride {CHPTAC} in starch backbone], its characterization and its flocculating efficiency will be tested against the culture microalgae.