Chapter 14 - Cyanobacteria: a precious bioresource for bioremediation

Abstract

Unrestrained anthropogenic activities and increase in industrial processes to cater the needs of increasing population on the earth have severely impacted the ecological balance of nature. Generation of wide range of pollutants, such as heavy metals, organic and inorganic compounds, and various agrochemicals, have severely affected the global ecosystem. Bioremediation is an effective cleaning technique for removing toxic waste from polluted environments in a green way without posing any threat to the environment. Cyanobacteria have recently emerged as potential eco-friendly, low-cost remediators with low nutritional requirements and a remarkable ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions by modifying their metabolic processes. The generated biomass can further be utilized for producing wide range of valuable products. The following book chapter gives us a brief insight about cyanobacteria as a powerful tool in bioremediation. The chapter highlights the recent approaches and collates advances in bioremediation strategies for eco-friendly detoxification and the effective degradation of diverse types of organic and inorganic contaminants to control environmental pollution. The chapter also underlines the importance of cyanoremediation in mono or coculturing systems along with bottle necks and prospects.