Microalgal Consortia for Waste Treatment and Valuable Bioproducts

Shousong Zhu, Lauren Higa, Antonia Barela, Caitlyn Lee, Yinhua Chen () and Zhi-Yan Du ()
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Shousong Zhu: Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresource, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Lauren Higa: Department of Molecular Biosciences & Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Antonia Barela: Department of Molecular Biosciences & Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Caitlyn Lee: Department of Molecular Biosciences & Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Yinhua Chen: Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresource, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Zhi-Yan Du: Department of Molecular Biosciences & Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: Microalgae have been considered a promising and sustainable candidate for wastewater treatment and valuable bioproducts, such as feedstocks for food, nutrients, and energy. However, many challenging bottlenecks, such as low biomass productivity, expensive biomass harvesting techniques, and inefficient extraction of biofuels restrict its large-scale commercial production. Symbiotic relationships between microalgae and bacteria, also known as microalgal consortia, have proven to be effective solutions for mitigating technical and economic limitations. The natural and artificial symbiotic microalgal consortia combine microorganisms with various metabolic activities, which leads to valuable biomass production and the removal of nutrients, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products (PPCP) from wastewater. Many microalgal consortia have been applied for various wastewater treatments with reduced energy costs and higher efficiency in recovering valuable resources. In this study we review the present research status and prospects of microalgal consortia, emphasizing the associated mechanism of microalgae consortia cooperative symbiosis and its studies on diverse environmental and biotechnological applications.

Keywords: microalgal consortia; symbiosis; wastewater treatment; resource recovery; biomass production; biofuel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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