Chemical Review and Letters

Investigating the removal of pollutants from wastewater using microalgae

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Leila Nedaei
Hanieh Shokrkar

Biotechnology Research Centre, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/crl.2025.490720.1482
Abstract
The application of microalgae in the treatment of wastewater has attracted considerable scholarly interest as a viable and environmentally sustainable alternative. In recent years, numerous combinations of microalgae and bacterial consortia have been investigated to evaluate their efficacy in the remediation of wastewater originating from various sources. The essential criteria for assessing their performance encompass their capacity to eliminate nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in addition to heavy metals including arsenic, lead, and copper. This study examines the efficiency of microalgae-based systems in treating wastewater, comparing them with traditional treatment methods. It also delves into the characteristics of wastewater, conventional treatment techniques, and the mechanisms used for nutrient and heavy metal removal. Microalgae have demonstrated remarkable potential, achieving removal rates of up to 99.6% for nitrogen, 100% for phosphorus, and 13–100% for heavy metals across various wastewater types. Despite these advantages, microalgae-based treatment systems face certain challenges. Their performance is influenced by factors such as temperature, biomass productivity, osmotic pressure, pH, and oxygen concentration.

Graphical Abstract

Investigating the removal of pollutants from wastewater using microalgae

Keywords

Nutrient removal
Microalgae cultivation
Photobioreactor
Biological wastewater treatment

Subjects

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Chemical Review and Letters
Volume 8, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
Winter 2025
Pages 426-440

  • Receive Date 28 November 2024
  • Revise Date 27 January 2025
  • Accept Date 21 March 2025

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