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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1568057
Harnessing Dairy Wastewater to Cultivate Scenedesmus sp. for Biofertilizer Applications in Phaseolus vulgaris L.: A Sustainable Agro-Biotechnological Approach
Provisionally accepted- 1 Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE, Sede Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, Ecuador
- 2 Andres Bello University, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
- 3 ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador
- 4 Faculty of Life Sciences, ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador
Transforming traditional linear production into sustainable circular processes is crucial, and integrating microalgae biomass production with wastewater recycling is a promising approach. This study addresses key challenges using dairy industry effluents as a nutrient-rich medium, achieving high biomass productivity and protein content with Scenedesmus sp. grown in an 80% wastewater-based medium. Impressive nutrient removal efficiencies were recorded for TN (79.24%) and PO4 -3 (77.14%). The proposed culture medium achieved maximum productivity of 0.22 ± 0.05 g L⁻¹ day⁻¹ and a high protein concentration of 384.38 ± 34.06 mg g⁻¹, demonstrating the medium's efficiency in promoting substantial biomass and nutritional quality. The application of Scenedesmus sp. biomass in treatment T1 (extract) and T2 (culture) in Phaseolus vulgaris significantly improved soil quality, increasing the concentration of organic matter (SOM), nitrates, phosphates, and microbial activity. Additionally, T1 promoted the vegetative and reproductive development of P. vulgaris, as reflected in a germination index of 305.81%, an average height of 49.52 cm, higher leaf density, a greater number of floral buds, and enhanced floral development. These results demonstrate the bio-stimulatory potential of biomass and its role in practical bioremediation, highlighting the environmental and agricultural benefits of this innovative approach.
Keywords: Scenedesmus sp., Dairy wastewater, Bio-stimulants, bioremediation, bean
Received: 28 Jan 2025; Accepted: 27 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Álvarez-Montero, Mercado-Reyes, Castillo-Chamba and Santos-Ordonez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Efren Santos-Ordonez, ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil, Ecuador
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