Algae and bacteria consortia for wastewater decontamination and transformation into biodiesel, bioethanol, biohydrogen, biofertilizers and animal feed: a review

• Published in: Environmental chemistry letters Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 1585 - 1609
• Main Authors: Anand, Uttpal, Dey, Satarupa, Parial, Dipannita, Federici, Stefania, Ducoli, Serena, Bolan, Nanthi S., Dey, Abhijit, Bontempi, Elza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.06.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algae; Algae harvesting; Ammonium nitrogen; Analytical Chemistry; Animal feed; Bacteria; Biodiesel fuels; Bioethanol; Biofertilizers; Biofuels; Biohydrogen; Biological treatment; Biomass; Bioremediation; Cell adhesion; Cell adhesion & migration; Chemical oxygen demand; Chemistry; Climate change; Consortia; Contaminants; Decontamination; Diesel; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Efficiency; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Ethanol; Feeds; Fertilizers; Freshwater resources; Geochemistry; Natural resources; Nitrogen; Nutrients; Pathogens; Phosphorus; Phytoplankton; Plant sciences; Pollutants; Pollution; Resource depletion; Review Paper; Sanitation; Sludge; Wastewater treatment; Water treatment; Nutrient removal; Biofertilizer production; Microalgae; Emerging contaminants removal; Biodiesel and bioethanol production; Wastewater treatment and bioremediation
• ISSN: 1610-3653; 1610-3661
• DOI: 10.1007/s10311-023-01562-w

Traditional wastewater treatment has been aimed solely at sanitation by removing contaminants, yet actual issues of climate change and depletion of natural resources are calling for methods that both remove contaminants and convert waste into chemicals and fuels. In particular, biological treatments with synergic coupling of microalgae and bacteria appear promising to remove organic, inorganic, and pathogen contaminants and to generate biofuels. Here, we review the use of algae and bacteria in the treatment and valorization of wastewater with focus on cell-to-cell adhesion, wastewater properties, and techniques for algae harvesting and production of biodiesel, bioethanol, biohydrogen, exopolysaccarides, biofertilizers, and animal feeds.