Trends in Waste Water Treatment using Phycoremediation for Biofuel Production

Abstract

Treating waste water (WW) is a tedious phenomenon that involves the removal of heavy metals, organic C, N, P, and other contaminants using physical, chemical, and biological processes. In the current time, the crisis of appropriate water supply for household, drinking, irrigation, and industrial purposes is a major problem around the world. Therefore, to find the remedies for these problems, it is necessary to construct a suitable method of waste water cleaning. In this context, algae are known for their versatility to grow naturally on various water systems. Along a similar theme, presently, the cultivation of microalgae for biofuel generation is considered a sustainable technology due to their greater rate of photosynthetic fixation of CO2. This decreases the overall net deposit of greenhouse gases. Algae culture for biofuel production and waste water treatment (WWT) can be done in an integrated approach because it can grow in waste water, removing the contaminants, a process called phycoremediation. Diverse algal species are applied for different purposes, from the production of biofuels and nutraceuticals to treating waste water. Possibilities in applications of phycoremediation have set the trend in laboratories to reinforce algal-based technologies. Algae can be better utilized for their bioremediation ability and value-added by-product generation potential. This role gives a plausible dual purpose for algae cultivation, water treatment as well as producing biomass for generating biofuels and fertilizers. On this roadmap, in order to overcome the limitations of algal-based treatment for industrial usage, several scientific downsides need to be pointed out. The aim of this chapter is to help in the advancement of WWT using algae by providing a systematic and critical review of recent research into algal cultivation using waste water. Numerous difficulties associated with algal technology are also evaluated and addressed, for instance, contamination, declining the harvesting time, and increasing the biomass yield of the algal production. The plausible remedies of these obstructions have been advocated in this chapter to enhance the application of the phycoremediation process for treating industrial waste water by keeping in mind environmental sustainability. © 2023 Anju Malik, Mohd. Kashif Kidwai and Vinod Kumar Garg.