Abstract
Industrial revolutions, advancements in health care, pharmaceuticals, transportation can be attributed to advancements made in the field of science and technology. Environment and natural resources has paid a heavy cost for most of industrial development. Rapid depletion of non-renewable sources of energy eventually leading towards the energy crisis, direct or indirect release of industrial effluents into soil and natural water bodies, global warming are among major consequences of industrialization. Ever since these environmental concerns have been recognized substantial studies have been conducted to minimize, control pollution and restore environment and natural resources. Among several measures cultivation of algae on large scale stands out to be a multipurpose solution. Inherent potential of microalgae species to accumulate lipids makes algae an efficient source of biofuel. Beside this ability of algae to detoxify polluted water and industrial effluent support utilization of algae for environment management and restoration. Efficient CO2 fixation, ability to tolerate wide range of environmental conditions, minimal nutritional requirements further support commercial cultivation of algal species to achieve their widespread application. However, efforts are required to develop large scale cultivation protocols (beyond the range of photobioreactors) so as to achieve practical applicability of algae and their products. Alongwith, cultivation protocols there is simultaneous need of either selection of naturally occurring high yielding strains / species or genetic improvement. Standardization of optimum cultivation conditions along with harvesting procedure is equally important.
Highlights
Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes occupying diverse range of habitats including different environmental and geographical regions
Ismail et al [36] utilized Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis to treat waste water obtained from olive mill and achieved reduction in COD and phenolic compounds
Zeller et al [56] revealed bioplastics synthesized from Spirulina and Chlorella species to be compatible with plastics synthesized from protein of plant or animal origin
Summary
Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes occupying diverse range of habitats including different environmental and geographical regions. Ever since the potential of algae species to produce biofuel has been recognized, there has been efforts to optimize methods to enhance lipid synthesis. Several studies have indicated application of algal species in the treatment of waste water from various sources (Table 1). Chlorella vulgaris is the most commonly utilized algae for waste water treatment [25,26,27,28,29,30]. Kumar et al [31] reported Chlorella minutissima and Scenedesmus spp. to effectively reduce COD, TDS and phosphate content of sewage water. All three studies reported that Chlorella vulgaris effectively reduced COD contents of effluent.
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