Abstract
Wastewater treatment (WWT) is a serious challenge and a critical problem around the world. Consequently, extensive investigations are being conducted to seek effective and efficient methods in treatment technology. Some attractive methods gaining significant attention today involve biological wastewater treatment technologies. Treating wastewaters utilizing microalgae is effective because of its simplicity. The species are compatible with many different habitats, and their impact is driven by the natural process of photosynthesis. Since the 1950s, microalgal technology, also referred to as phycoremediation, has been successfully utilized to treat wastewaters.
Miscellaneous methods for the cultivation of microalgae for use in WWT are developing rapidly. However, finding innovative methods that cost-effectively increase the efficiency of the treatments, and their associated biomass productivity, remains substantial hurdles for industrialization of microalgal technology to overcome. This chapter critically reviews the competencies and capabilities of microalgal cultivation methods recently developed to maximize pollutant elimination. Additionally, the possibilities of algal biofilm technology to eliminate pollutants and accelerate microalgal biomass growth utilizing various techniques are evaluated. This review considers trends of nutrient elimination, biomass generation, and growth provisions. Key considerations are identified regarding the design and construction requirements of algal biofilm-based technologies. Understanding the impacts of a few key factors on specific algal species has the potential to optimize their development. This can enable them to effectively achieve nutrient elimination from wastewater and concurrently sustain biomass generation at high growth rates. Such understanding promises to improve the efficiency of existing designs of wastewater treatment systems.
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Abbreviations
- OPM:
-
Outside-cellular polymeric materials
- WWT:
-
Wastewater treatment
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Sadatshojaei, E., Mowla, D., Wood, D.A. (2020). Review of Progress in Microalgal Biotechnology Applied to Wastewater Treatment. In: Inamuddin, Asiri, A. (eds) Sustainable Green Chemical Processes and their Allied Applications. Nanotechnology in the Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42284-4_19
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