Microalgal‐based remediation of wastewater: A step towards environment protection and management

Abstract

AbstractThe widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardizing the ecosystem and our health. The contamination of freshwater through anthropogenic activities and its discharge into the ecosystems leads to the generation of wastewater. Wastewater mainly contains nutrient loads and the recent emerging contaminants such as pharmaceutical wastes, drugs, micropollutants, heavy metals, pesticides, phenolic compounds, and dyes have increased and contaminated the aquatic bodies. The existence of these emerging pollutants can cause serious threats to ecosystems and humans. Thus, conventional wastewater treatment was focused on the removal of solid compounds or nutrient loads. However, it could not remove the emerging contaminants and later microalgae that are photosynthetic eukaryotic microorganisms were found to be an efficient and eco‐friendly source for the remediation of diverse kinds of wastewater. Apart from nutrient removal, the algal biomass acts as the efficient feedstock for the generation of bioenergy products. However, limited data have been published regarding the remediation of emerging pollutants through microalgae. Thus, focusing on the recent gaps, the current review provides an overview of the potential of microalgae for the remediation of nutrient loads. Critically deliberate the recent advances and detailed summary of microalgae potential for the remediation of wastewaters containing high nutrient loads especially focused on the remediation of different emerging contaminants. It highlights the advanced approaches used in the microalgae remediation process and provides comprehensive information about the different bioenergy products such as liquid, gaseous, and bioelectricity generated through the utilization of wastewater‐grown microalgae.