Microalgae cultivation in wastewater from agricultural industries to benefit next generation of bioremediation: a bibliometric analysis.

Jessica Muniz Melo,Marina Ronchesel Ribeiro,Higo Forlan Amaral,Tiago Santos Telles,Diva Souza Andrade

doi:10.1007/s11356-021-17427-0

Abstract

The aim of this study was to provide a bibliometric analysis and mapping of existing scientific papers, focusing on microalgae cultivation coupled with biomass production and bioremediation of wastewater from agricultural industries, including cassava, dairy, and coffee. Using the Web of Science (WoS) database for the period 1996-2021, a search was performed using a keyword strategy, aiming at segregating the papers in groups. For the first search step, the keywords "wastewater treatment", AND "microalgae", AND "cassava" OR "dairy" OR "coffee" were used, resulting in 59 papers. For the second step, the keywords "wastewater treatment" AND "biomass productivity" AND "microalgae" AND "economic viability" OR "environmental impacts" were used, which resulted in 34 articles. In these papers, keywords such as "carbon dioxide biofixation" and "removal of nutrients by the production of biomass by microalgae" followed by "environmental and economic impacts" were highlighted. Some of these papers presented an analysis of the economic feasibility of the process, which reveal the state-of-the-art setup required to make the cultivation of microalgae economically viable. Researches focusing on the efficiency of microalgae biomass harvesting are needed to improve the integration of microalgae production in industrial eco-parks using wastewater to achieve the global goal of bioremediation and clean alternatives for renewable energy generation.

Highlights

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms capable of growing in industrial effluents, producing a biomass rich in oils and carbohydrates, which are the raw materials for generating clean energy and biofertilizers; they contribute to the bioremediation process simultaneously (Andrade et al, 2021; Woertz et al, 2009)
The aim of this study is to provide a bibliometric analysis and mapping of existing scientific papers, focusing on microalgae cultivation coupled with biomass production and bioremediation of wastewater from cassava, dairy, and coffee industries
The keywords of the articles were as follows: (i) dairy wastewater related to the removal of nutrients and associated with C. vulgaris and C. pyrenoidosa; (ii) cassava starch to obtain lipids related to C. protothecoides; and (iii) use of coffee wastewater associated with anaerobic digestion and cyanobacteria (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms capable of growing in industrial effluents, producing a biomass rich in oils and carbohydrates, which are the raw materials for generating clean energy and biofertilizers; they contribute to the bioremediation process simultaneously (Andrade et al, 2021; Woertz et al, 2009). Wastewater can be used to grow microalgae in the chain production process as a sustainable water source and as a medium rich in nutrients, containing organic carbon source for the heterotrophic and mixotrophic groups (Andrade et al, 2020; Lowrey et al, 2015). The cultivation of microalgae in dairy effluents (which is rich in C:N:P) replaces the culture medium containing mineral nutrients and fresh water generally used for microalgae cultivation, thereby reducing the cost of production (Kumar et al, 2020). According to Valizadeh and Davarpanah (2020), biological purification of dairy effluents is an efficient and essential approach that leads to a healthy and clean environmental ecosystem

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