In the quest for a feedstock for the production of biofuels, microalgae are showing potential. High photosynthetic efficiency, combined with high lipid content and low fresh water requirement, has contributed to the 'biofuels feedstock' status of microalgae. In some communities, microalgae have also been cultivated in wastewater in facultative lagoons to remove phosphorus and nitrogen through the growth of microalgae. With such systems in place, complete biological wastewater treatment can be achieved and the harvested microalgae could provide feedstock for biodiesel and various other bioproducts. Due to small cell size, low culture concentrations, and the electrostatic repulsive forces that keep the cells in suspension, harvesting microalgae entails high energy inputs and associated high costs. Of the several harvesting methods tested, chemical precipitation has been shown to be the only method to harvest microalgae on a large scale. Although effective in wastewater treatment, the use of inorganic metal coagulants for microalgae harvesting leads to high dosage requirements, excess volume of sludge, and high costs, and due to the presence of associated metal hydroxide, the harvested biomass is unsuitable as feedstock for bioproducts. The drawbacks of inorganic coagulants for microalgae harvesting can be overcome by using cationic starch. Corn and potato starch were cationized using 3-methacryloyl amino propyl trimethyl ammonium chloride and biogenic amines. Flocculation efficiencies of the cationic starches were tested in a jar test apparatus using single strain microalga, Scenedesmus obliquus, and mixed culture wastewater from the Logan City, Utah lagoons. Cationic starches showed better or comparable removal of total suspended solids compared to aluminum sulfate. Total phosphorus removal efficiencies for cationic starches were lower compared to aluminum sulfate. Effect of cationic starch harvested and alum harvested S. obliquus on biodiesel, acetone, butanol, ethanol production, and Escherichia coli growth was also studied. Results suggested significantly higher yields of bioproducts when cationic starch was used to harvest microalgae and the biomass was used as feedstock. Cationic starches are an organic, sustainable, and renewable form of coagulant/flocculant. The use of cationic starch for harvesting microalgae eliminates the need for metal salts while enhancing the production of algae-based bioproducts. Cationic starch along with advanced technologies in the processing of microalgae is the way forward in the realization of the “microalgae to biofuels” initiative.

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Tendo em vista que os amidos (catiônicos ou não) não são nocivos a saúde do ser humano, uma vez que são utilizados na indústria de alimentos, e observando-se a potencialidade do seu uso como auxiliares de floculação, foi proposto o presente trabalho. Consiste na realização de ensaios de coagulação (com sulfato alumínio), floculação e sedimentação em equipamento de reatores estáticos, objetivando verificar a influência do gradiente de velocidade e do tempo de agitação na floculação com polímero sintético catiônico e amidos de milho e mandioca catiônicos. Concluiu-se que as condições de aplicação exercem influência na eficiência de remoção de turbidez e cor aparente, sendo que cada polímero estudado apresentou uma condição ótima específica. Em todos os ensaios realizados, o amido de mandioca catiônico foi o mais eficiente, indicando que os amidos catiônicos podem ser substitutos em potencial dos polímeros sintéticos no tratamento de águas de abastecimento, quando utilizados como auxiliares de floculação. / This present work was based on the fact that native and cationic starches are not harmful to man\'s health, since they have been largely used in food processing industries, and that they may be potentially used as flocculation aids in water treatment. Jar Test assays were performed, including coagulation with aluminum sulphate, flocculation and sedimentation, aiming to study the influence of the velocity gradient and mixing time on flocculation, using a cationic synthetic polymer and cationic com and manioc starches as aids. In the main, it was concluded that the conditions under which the polymers were applied, affect the efficiency of turbidity and color removals and that each polymer studied presented an specific optimum condition. It was also observed that manioc cationic starch resulted more effective than the others polymers studied, when used as flocculation aids.

Tendo em vista que os amidos (catiônicos ou não) não são nocivos a saúde do ser humano, uma vez que são utilizados na indústria de alimentos, e observando-se a potencialidade do seu uso como auxiliares de floculação, foi proposto o presente trabalho. Consiste na realização de ensaios de coagulação (com sulfato alumínio), floculação e sedimentação em equipamento de reatores estáticos, objetivando verificar a influência do gradiente de velocidade e do tempo de agitação na floculação com polímero sintético catiônico e amidos de milho e mandioca catiônicos. Concluiu-se que as condições de aplicação exercem influência na eficiência de remoção de turbidez e cor aparente, sendo que cada polímero estudado apresentou uma condição ótima específica. Em todos os ensaios realizados, o amido de mandioca catiônico foi o mais eficiente, indicando que os amidos catiônicos podem ser substitutos em potencial dos polímeros sintéticos no tratamento de águas de abastecimento, quando utilizados como auxiliares de floculação. / This present work was based on the fact that native and cationic starches are not harmful to man\'s health, since they have been largely used in food processing industries, and that they may be potentially used as flocculation aids in water treatment. Jar Test assays were performed, including coagulation with aluminum sulphate, flocculation and sedimentation, aiming to study the influence of the velocity gradient and mixing time on flocculation, using a cationic synthetic polymer and cationic com and manioc starches as aids. In the main, it was concluded that the conditions under which the polymers were applied, affect the efficiency of turbidity and color removals and that each polymer studied presented an specific optimum condition. It was also observed that manioc cationic starch resulted more effective than the others polymers studied, when used as flocculation aids.

Dans les procédés classiques d'extraction de la cellulose pour la fabrication de la pâte à papier à partir de bois, les hémicelluloses sont dégradées et sont brûlées pour alimenter l'usine en énergie. En incluant une étape préalable d'extraction de ces polysaccharides, ils pourraient alors être réintroduits en aval du procédé, après cationisation, en tant qu'agent de renfort dans la pâte à papier. Dans ce travail, la cationisation de deux hémicelluloses modèles commerciales de type galactomannane et xylane a été effectuée par éthérification avec un époxyde cationique en solution aqueuse basique, avec des degrés de substitution de 0,1 à 1,3. Les paramètres prépondérants de la réaction sont la concentration des espèces et la quantité d'agent éthérifiant, tandis que la température et le temps de réaction influent principalement sur le rendement massique. Un plan d'expérience a permis de modéliser l'interaction entre les quantités de soude et d'époxyde et d'optimiser les conditions en fonction du DS avec une efficacité de réaction de 50%. La cationisation a également été appliquée à deux hémicelluloses extraites au FCBA. La mise en oeuvre de la réaction en absence de solvant a permis d'atteindre une efficacité de réaction de 70 à 90% et de réduire considérablement les quantités de réactif utilisées et d'effluents à traiter. Parmi la gamme de DS, les dérivés cationiques de DS 0,3 ont donné les meilleures propriétés après ajout dans la pâte à papier, le galactomannane étant plus efficace que le xylane. Enfin, la réticulation des chaînes du xylane extrait a permis d'augmenter les propriétés physiques du papier de 15% supplémentaires / With current paper pulp processes, hemicelluloses are decomposed during the extraction of cellulose fibres. By including a previous step of hemicellulose extraction, these compounds could be reused as additives in the paper pulp, instead of cationic starch. In this work, two model galactomannan and xylan hemicelluloses were cationized in aqueous solution under basic conditions by etherification with a cationic epoxide. Degrees of substitution from 0.1 to 1.3 were obtained. Species concentration and epoxide amount appeared as preponderant parameters of the reaction. With an experimental design, the interaction between sodium hydroxide and epoxide amounts was modelized, and reactional conditions were optimized depending on the desired DS with a reaction efficiency of 50%. Then, cationisation was applied to two hemicelluloses extracted in FCBA. The reaction was also carried out in absence of solvent with a reaction efficiency of 70-90%, by minimising reagents consumption and effluents. Cationic derivatives with DS 0.3 gave the best performance to increase the paper resistance when they were added in paper pulp, galactomannan being more efficient than xylan. Chain reticulation allowed increasing mechanical properties of paper of 15% for the extracted xylan