Sustainable Algal Industrial Wastewater Treatment: Applications and Challenges

The rapid increase in the worldwide economy and the growth in anthropological population have produced a pressing issue of deprived clean water resources appropriate for direct human consumption. Accordingly, there is an inevitable shift toward prioritizing water remediation on a global scale. Industrial wastewater (IWW) is high in organic, inorganic and heavy metals, which act as a nutrient source for microalgae. Microalgae offer potential and effective removal of contaminants from various IWW. Microalgae-based wastewater treatment (WWT) has gathered attention because of it's adaptability of microalgae to various environmental conditions low energy requirements, sustainability, and their ability to convert WW nutrients into valuable compounds. Microalgae remove different toxins through processes like biosorption, bioaccumulation, and biodegradation. Microalgae also have the potential to address carbon dioxide levels and utilize micronutrients present in effluents. This chapter emphasizes the use of microalgae in IWW remediation, highlighting their ability to address various pollutants commonly found in wastewater through diverse mechanisms. It also explores synchronized reserve recovery and competent microalgae-based co-culturing classifications, all while addressing the challenges and prospects in this field.