A praia de Itacoatiara, área de proteção ambiental, localizada no município no Niterói- RJ, tem importante contribuição para o turismo ecológico da região. Busca a certificação ambiental do programa Bandeira Azul e este trabalho buscou cumprir determinação de monitoramento ambiental como um dos critérios do programa. O objetivo foi avaliar a proliferação de microalgas marinhas como sensor da qualidade da balneabilidade diagnosticada através de um bioindicador, o fitoplâncton. As coletas foram realizadas em dois pontos nos meses de novembro de 2008 e de janeiro a março de 2009. Foram encontradas 52 unidades taxonômicas, sendo que 33 pertencem às diatomáceas (Bacillariophyceae), 15 dinoflagelados (Dinophyceae), 1 às cianobactéria (Cyanophyceae), 1 euglenofícea (Euglenophyceae), 1 crisofícea (Chrysophyceae) e 1 prasinofícea (Prasinophyceae) e fitoflagelados. A metodologia seguida foi de sedimentação em cubetas e analisadas em microscópio invertido. A praia de Itacoatiara está caracterizada por sofrer influência de ambientes adjacentes com massas dágua comprometidas promovendo proliferações algais monoespecíficas com densidades consideradas de Bloom. As espécies dominantes foram Tetraselmis sp (Prasinophyceae) considerada potencialmente nociva por apresentar contaminação visual e as Cianobactérias que podem produzir toxinas. Os parâmetros vento, ondulação e maré foram apontadas como os principais carreadores das massas dágua comprometidas até a região estudada. Por cumprir o objetivo geral, conclui-se que o fitoplâncton marinho pode ser utilizado como parâmetro para a caracterização e qualidade da balneabilidade de praias. / The Itacoatiara beach, area of environmental protection, in the municipality in Niterói, has an important contribution to the ecological tourism in the region. Search the environmental certification of the "Blue Flag" and this work seeks to achieve environmental monitoring determination as one of the criteria of the program. The objective was to evaluate the proliferation of marine microalgae. The quality of bathing was diagnosed by a bioindicator, the phytoplankton. The collections were made during the months from November 2008 to March 2009. 52 taxonomic units were found, with 33 belonging to the diatoms (Bacillariophyceae), 15 dinoflagellates (Dinophyceae), 1 cyanobacteria (Cyanophyceae), 1 Euglenophyceae, 1 Chrysophyceae and 1 Prasinophyceae and phytoflagellates. The methodology was based in sedimentation cuvette and analysis in inverted microscope. The beach is characterized by the Itacoatiara influence of environments adjacent to the water masses involved in promoting proliferation monospecific algae densities considered of "Bloom". The dominant species were Tetraselmis sp (Prasinophyceae) considered potentially harmful contamination by presenting visual and cyanobacteria that can produce toxins. The parameters wind, waves and tides have been identified as the main carriers of the water masses committed to the region studied. By meeting the general objective, we find that the marine phytoplankton can be used as parameter for the characterization and quality of balneability of beaches.

A praia de Itacoatiara, área de proteção ambiental, localizada no município no Niterói- RJ, tem importante contribuição para o turismo ecológico da região. Busca a certificação ambiental do programa Bandeira Azul e este trabalho buscou cumprir determinação de monitoramento ambiental como um dos critérios do programa. O objetivo foi avaliar a proliferação de microalgas marinhas como sensor da qualidade da balneabilidade diagnosticada através de um bioindicador, o fitoplâncton. As coletas foram realizadas em dois pontos nos meses de novembro de 2008 e de janeiro a março de 2009. Foram encontradas 52 unidades taxonômicas, sendo que 33 pertencem às diatomáceas (Bacillariophyceae), 15 dinoflagelados (Dinophyceae), 1 às cianobactéria (Cyanophyceae), 1 euglenofícea (Euglenophyceae), 1 crisofícea (Chrysophyceae) e 1 prasinofícea (Prasinophyceae) e fitoflagelados. A metodologia seguida foi de sedimentação em cubetas e analisadas em microscópio invertido. A praia de Itacoatiara está caracterizada por sofrer influência de ambientes adjacentes com massas dágua comprometidas promovendo proliferações algais monoespecíficas com densidades consideradas de Bloom. As espécies dominantes foram Tetraselmis sp (Prasinophyceae) considerada potencialmente nociva por apresentar contaminação visual e as Cianobactérias que podem produzir toxinas. Os parâmetros vento, ondulação e maré foram apontadas como os principais carreadores das massas dágua comprometidas até a região estudada. Por cumprir o objetivo geral, conclui-se que o fitoplâncton marinho pode ser utilizado como parâmetro para a caracterização e qualidade da balneabilidade de praias. / The Itacoatiara beach, area of environmental protection, in the municipality in Niterói, has an important contribution to the ecological tourism in the region. Search the environmental certification of the "Blue Flag" and this work seeks to achieve environmental monitoring determination as one of the criteria of the program. The objective was to evaluate the proliferation of marine microalgae. The quality of bathing was diagnosed by a bioindicator, the phytoplankton. The collections were made during the months from November 2008 to March 2009. 52 taxonomic units were found, with 33 belonging to the diatoms (Bacillariophyceae), 15 dinoflagellates (Dinophyceae), 1 cyanobacteria (Cyanophyceae), 1 Euglenophyceae, 1 Chrysophyceae and 1 Prasinophyceae and phytoflagellates. The methodology was based in sedimentation cuvette and analysis in inverted microscope. The beach is characterized by the Itacoatiara influence of environments adjacent to the water masses involved in promoting proliferation monospecific algae densities considered of "Bloom". The dominant species were Tetraselmis sp (Prasinophyceae) considered potentially harmful contamination by presenting visual and cyanobacteria that can produce toxins. The parameters wind, waves and tides have been identified as the main carriers of the water masses committed to the region studied. By meeting the general objective, we find that the marine phytoplankton can be used as parameter for the characterization and quality of balneability of beaches.

L'augmentation de la consommation du pétrole, principale source d'énergie fossile actuelle, utilisée en grande partie par le secteur du transport, fera en sorte que ses réserves risquent de diminuer dans le futur. Ainsi, la dépendance des pays consommateurs vis-à-vis des pays producteurs ne fera que s'accentuer. Par ailleurs, les transports sont considérés comme la première source d'émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) dont le dioxyde de carbone (CO2), gaz lié aux changements climatiques. Ces facteurs ainsi que l'instabilité des cours du pétrole ont incité les politiques et par conséquent les chercheurs à trouver, de façon urgente, des sources alternatives au pétrole. Le retour au biodiesel initié et utilisé, il y a plus d'un siècle, par Rudolph Diesel (1858-1913), s'avère une des solutions possibles. Ces dernières années, la plupart des biodiesels industriels sont produits à partir de l'huile (triglycérides) extraite de matières premières végétales (colza, tournesol, soja, etc.). Afm de changer leurs propriétés physico-chimiques pour les rendre similaires à celles du pétro-diesel, les triglycérides sont transestérifiés en esters alkyliques d'acides gras, qui peuvent être utilisés dans un moteur classique, sans modification. Sur le plan écologique, en plus de la capacité des plantes oléagineuses à réduire les émissions polluantes de GES en piégeant et en consommant notamment le CO2, l'utilisation du biodiesel réduit les émissions nettes de polluants. Or, une forte demande des plantes oléagineuses comme matières premières pour produire du biodiesel pourrait augmenter le prix des huiles qui sont également nécessaires à l'alimentation humaine. D'autre part, l'utilisation de telles huiles engendre des coûts de production de biodiesel. Afm de surmonter ces problèmes sociaux, économiques et environnementaux, l'utilisation des huiles usées et des microalgues comme matières premières s'avère la solution la plus plausible. Concernant les huiles usées, le rejet de ces résidus graisseux dans le réseau d'assainissement est un risque pour l'environnement et pour les installations de traitement des eaux. Ces huiles gênent le bon fonctionnement des stations d'épuration lorsqu'elles sont rejetées dans le réseau d'assainissement, ce qui entraîne un surcoût. Le déversement de ces huiles provoque de nombreuses nuisances à savoir l'obturation des canalisations, la difficulté de traitement des graisses en station d'épuration, la production d'odeurs nauséabondes et de gaz toxiques, la corrosion des canalisations et le déséquilibre de la faune et de la flore aquatique, d'où l'intérêt de les valoriser en biodiesel. Quant aux microalgues, leur valorisation en biocarburant se développe depuis plusieurs années. Ce sont des microorganismes très anciens et il en existerait au moins 100 000 espèces, dont une cinquantaine seulement sont bien connues parmi les 40 000 déjà étudiées. Il reste donc encore un très grand potentiel à explorer. Ces microorganismes capturent, concentrent et fixent l'énergie de la lumière dans la biomasse. Les procédés de production des microalgues sont variés. Certains d'entre eux permettent d'absorber les émissions de CO2 atmosphérique de divers procédés comme celles issues des cimenteries. La grande capacité des microalgues à épurer les effluents industriels, municipaux ou agricoles, peut aussi être avantageusement exploitée. Les microalgues présentent un potentiel de productivité pouvant dépasser dix fois les meilleures cultures agricoles conventionnelles. La production industrielle de microalgues se présente donc, de plus en plus, comme une solution durable intéressante. Les modes et les procédés de production ont évolué au cours des années. Le mode autotrophe, le plus répandu, développé avec l'énergie salaire, permet de convertir le CO2 en microalgue polyvalente. Les procédés autotrophes les plus étudiés sont constitués de divers types de bassins et de photobioréacteurs (PBR). Par ailleurs, les procédés hétérotrophes utilisent des bioréacteurs fermés alimentés d'effluents riches en hydrates de carbone. Les procédés hétérotrophes, indépendants des conditions climatiques, représentent donc un potentiel d'exploitation intéressant pour les zones nordiques. Le procédé mixotrophe consiste à cultiver des microalgues dans l'obscurité avec un apport de lumière variable au cours du temps. Cette étude entre dans le cadre de la production de biodiesel par valorisation d'une part des huiles de friture usées provenant du restaurant de l'Université de Sherbrooke et des huiles extraites de la microalgue Tetraselims sp. d'autre part. [symboles non conformes]

The push for alternatives to petroleum fuels has forced researchers to look for highly productive, renewable, non-food resources. The advantages of using microalgae instead of traditional oil crops for biofuel production include high oil yields, rapid reproductive rates, and versatile growing requirements. In order to reduce the cost of producing microalgae based biofuels, wastewater has been used as a nutrient source instead of specialized plant nutrients. The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of different combinations of microalgae strain and dairy wastewater for increasing biomass. The methods for monitoring growth included optical density, cell counting, biomass estimation by chlorophyll-a, and volatile suspended solids. The analyses compared four concentrations of wastewater media as well as four strain treatments: Chlorella vulgaris, Tetraselmis sp., mixed freshwater culture and mixed saltwater culture. Optimum wastewater concentrations for microalgae growth were approximately 0% and 25% for most strain treatments. The results of the wastewater treatments concluded that dairy wastewater could serve as an effective nutrient substitute for plant food at concentrations approximately 25%. Chlorella vulgaris and Tetraselmis sp. prevailed over the mixed cultures for biomass production. Nitrate was the most limiting nutrient and exhibited the greatest reductions, sometimes in excess of 90%. The regression equations derived from the volatile suspended solids data achieved high R2 values and determined that total nitrogen, ammonium, and nitrate were significant in the model. In those equations, increasing either ammonium or nitrate yielded an increase in volatile suspended solids. With regards to comparing biomass quantification methods, the two most useful and reliable biomass quantification methods were optical density and volatile suspended solids.

Algae are a promising new source of oil for biodiesel. They are aquatic organisms that do not require cropland, and they can produce many useful side-products for bioenergy, aquaculture, and nutraceutical production. To be cost-effective, algae need high and reliable oil productivities; however, there is still a great deal to learn about the effects of culturing conditions on algae growth rates and lipid production. These culturing conditions include light intensity, gas flow, use of CO₂, and culture volume. An extensive database of published research on algae growth rates and lipid contents under a wide variety of environmental conditions was prepared. By graphing data from 116 publications on 132 microalgae species, several key trends were identified relating to culturing parameters and algae biomass and lipid production. In addition, data from 131 publications on 128 microalgae species were graphed to look at presence of flagella, nutrient limitation, lipid productivity, and productivity tradeoffs. Moreover, cell size information was gathered for 146 species. The interactions between culture variables are complex, so it is difficult to quantify the degree to which each culture variable affects algae growth rates and lipid production. Therefore, several multivariate analyses were performed to generate a set of general and simple predictive models to assess specific growth rates, maximum lipid contents, and volumetric lipid productivities. These models were used to determine which culture parameters were significant predictors of algae growth rates and lipid production, and the contribution of each environmental parameter was quantified. In addition to models for algae in general, genera specific models were prepared for Chlorella, Isochrysis, Nannochloropsis, Phaeodactylum, and Tetraselmis. These models show high predictive capabilities, and they greatly extend the range of species-specific multiple regression models available. Furthermore, one Tetraselmis model was validated using Tetraselmis impellucida growth experiments in a large novel photobioreactor.

Advanced oxidation technology (AOT) has been used to destroy microorganisms in ballast water by breaking down the cell membranes. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effects of a ballast water treatment system that uses a combination of UV-C (λ=254 nm), Vacuum-UV (VUV; λ=185 nm) and photocatalytic titanium dioxide (TiO2) on a freshwater algae, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, and a marine algae, Tetraselmis suecica. The coupling of a semiconductor, such as TiO2, with a UV source is known as an advanced oxidative technology (AOT). To test the effects of TiO2 and wave length on algae, dose-response experiments were conducted to determine the species median lethal dose (LC50) for each of the following treatments: UV-light emitted at 254 nm (UVλ=254 nm), UV-light emitted at 254 nm in the presence of TiO2 (AOTλ=254 nm), and UV-light emitted at λ=254 nm (90 %) and 185 nm (90 %) in the presence of TiO2 (AOTλ=185 + 254 nm). In both species, TiO2 significantly increased mortality, most likely due to the biologically harmful radicals generated at the TiO2 surface. The addition of the 185 nm wavelength significantly increased cell mortality in P. subcapitata, but not in T. suecica. Across all three treatments, P. subcapitata was more sensitive than T. suecica. The secondary purpose of this study was to assess the applicability of ImageJ, an image analysis software, for highthroughput data to analyze the effectiveness of ballast water treatment. ImageJ has been used to rapidly and accurately perform cell Live/Dead analysis; however, several hurdles were identified.