Integrated Approach for Carbon Sequestration and Wastewater Treatment Using Algal–Bacterial Consortia: Opportunities and Challenges

Shashirekha Viswanaathan, Pitchurajan Krishna Perumal and Seshadri Sundaram
Additional contact information
Shashirekha Viswanaathan: Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre (MCRC), Taramani, Chennai 600 113, India
Pitchurajan Krishna Perumal: Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre (MCRC), Taramani, Chennai 600 113, India
Seshadri Sundaram: Indigenous and Frontier Technology Research Centre (IFTR), Chennai 600 062, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), one of the important greenhouse gases, due to combustion of fossil fuels, particularly burning coal, have become the major cause for global warming. As a consequence, many research programs on CO 2 management (capture, storage, and sequestration) are being highlighted. Biological sequestration of CO 2 by algae is gaining importance, as it makes use of the photosynthetic capability of these aquatic species to efficiently capture CO 2 emitted from various industries and converting it into algal biomass as well as a wide range of metabolites such as polysaccharides, amino acids, fatty acids, pigments, and vitamins. In addition, their ability to thrive in rugged conditions such as seawater, contaminated lakes, and even in certain industrial wastewaters containing high organic and inorganic nutrients loads, has attracted the attention of researchers to integrate carbon capture and wastewater treatment. Algae offer a simple solution to tertiary treatments due to their nutrient removal efficiency, particularly inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus uptake. The algal–bacterial energy nexus is an important strategy capable of removing pollutants from wastewater in a synergistic manner. This review article highlights the mechanism involved in biological fixation of CO 2 by microalgae, their cultivation systems, factors influencing algal cultivation in wastewater and CO 2 uptake, the effect of co-cultivation of algae and bacteria in wastewater treatment systems, and challenges and opportunities.

Keywords: algae; bacterial consortia; CO 2 mitigation; wastewater treatment and synergistic effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1075/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1075/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1075-:d:727360

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().