Abstract
Algae and cyanobacteria are alternative renewable sources of bioenergy. Appertaining to their fast growth and fewer nutrient requirements, round-the-year cultivation in barren lands with wastewater is considered suitable over other energy crops. With the growing demand for fuels in various sectors, bioenergy like biodiesel, bioalcohol, biohydrogen, methane, and bio-crude (product of pyrolysis/hydrothermal liquefaction) is derived from algae/cyanobacteria as a support to other energy sources. Phycoremediation or bioremediation by algae/cyanobacteria is one of the most effective biological wastewater treatment processes. Algae/cyanobacteria are cultivated in effluents with high inorganic/organic loads from different industries like poultry, slaughterhouses, paper, textile, distillery, “supercritical water gasification”, produced water (while extracting nonrenewable oil/gas) landfill leachate, etc. Biomass for bioenergy integrated with phycoremediation provides techno-economic effectiveness of practical commercialization and sustainable energy production. It contributes to climate change alleviation, reducing competition with crop irrigation, carbon, and water footprint. Phycoremediation is useful in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage based bioenergy production while reducing the water footprint. In the biorefinery approach, the recycled wastewater cultivation medium is further reused for developing biomass for biofuel and coproduct development like feed, pharmaceuticals, pigments, lubricants, biochar, polysaccharides, bioplastics, biofertilizers, etc. While “water recycling” is imperative to essentially reduce “blue water footprint,” the recycled medium also contains different growth promoters and inhibitors. Microalgae cultivation is related to sustainable development goals (SDGs) about the environment (water, land, biodiversity, greenhouse gases), economy (energy, investment, industrialization), and social base (awareness, education). Biofuels (1st/2nd/3rd/4th) from all generations provide clean energy (SDG 7). Also, biofuel generation using wastewater is directly related to SDG 6/7/12/13. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the different aspects of phycoremediation in biomass production and reuse strategies of wastewater to reduce water footprint in relation to SDGs during bioenergy generation from algae/cyanobacteria.
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