Abstract

Algae are a diverse group of photosynthetic organisms with profound bioremediation potential and industrial applications that can reduce the cost of expenditure on energy and fuels. Algae have been applied to various applications from fuels and medicines to wastewater treatment. Potential applications of phycoremediation have instigated laboratories to reinforce the development of algal-based technologies for better exploitation of their bioremediation potential and by-product generation ability. Many species of algae have been studied and utilized for their function in wastewater treatment. Certain technological drawbacks need to be addressed to manage the shortcomings of algae for industrial usage. This review mainly focuses on the state of the art applications of phycotechnology for wastewater remediation. Many problems related to algal technology have also been exemplified and discussed such as contamination, decreasing the resilience time and increasing the biomass of the algal culture. Possible solutions of these bottlenecks have been suggested to better apply phycotechnology for wastewater remediation in industries considering the environmental issues. Recently, the concept of genetic engineering is found very useful that has increased the potential of phycotechnology reducing the resilience time considerably. On the contrary, the negative impact of the algal-based technologies on the environment and economy has also been deliberated in order to effectively utilize and manage this important organism with utmost benefit. Lastly, the review illuminates the scope and options of future research in the area of phycoremediation technologies.

Keywords: Algae; Phycoremediation; Phycotechnology; Wastewater treatment; Industrial effluents