Bioprocess considerations for microalgal based wastewater treatment and biomass production
Nowadays,microalgaereceivedwideattentionduetoseveraladvantagesforbiochemicalsandrenewable/
sustainablebiofuelsproduction.Moreover,theutilizationofmicroalgaeasrobustcellularspeciesforbiological
nutrientremovalfromindustrialanddomesticwastewaterstreamshasbeenofgreatresearchinterest
amongsttheseveralbiotechnologicalapplicationsofmicroalgae.Thisisduetothecapacityforeffective
photosyntheticuptakeofhighconcentrationsofminerals,ionogens, and organicsbymicroalgaewhilst
simultaneouslybiosequesteringcarbondioxide.Thisreviewdiscussestheutilizationofmicroalgaefor
wastewaternutrientsremoval.Itdiscussesthebioprocesspotentialsandchallengesofusingmicroalgalcells
forfull-scalemicrobialwastewatertreatmentunderfreeandimmobilizedconditions.Italsopresentsa
mechanisticinsightofthemasstransferprocessesessentialforoptimaluptakeofnutrientsduring
photobioreaction.Anewbioprocessparadigmbasedon integratedupstreamanddownstreamprocessesfor
multi-purposemicroalgaebioprocessing and bioresourcegenerationisdiscussed.