Stimulating the natural process of phycoremediation offers an opportunity for reducing
the environmental impact of various pollutants. This forms an effective and economic
biological treatment of polluted waters. The intimate association which the algae have
with the aquatic habitat makes them an interesting tool for such studies. The three
microalgae employed were found efficient in phycoremediation. Chlorella
minutissima, Scendesmus spp & BGA (Nostoc) grow well in polluted habitats and can
be used for phycoremediation purposes. The removal efficiency Chlorella was very
high. It shows that Chlorella minutissima is more efficient than Scendesmus spp and
Nostoc muscorum for phycoremediation purposes. Moreover, algal N would have
much less potential for leaching or for loss in run-off since only about 5% of the algal
N would be available as mineral N at the time of application. This benefit may allow
algal biomass to be side-dressed into established crops.