The Environmental Biorefinery: Using Microalgae to Remediate Wastewater, a Win-Win Paradigm

Microalgae have been shown to be a source of multiple bio-based products ranging from high value molecules to commodities. Along with their potential to produce a large variety of products, microalgae can also be used for the depollution of wastewaters of different origins (urban, industrial, and agricultural). This paper is focused on the importance of harnessing the bioremediation capacity of microalgae to treat wastewaters in order to develop the microalgae industry (especially the microalgae biofuel industry) and to find other alternatives to the classic wastewater treatment processes. The current research on the potential of microalgae to treat a specific wastewater or a targeted pollutant is reviewed and discussed. Then, both strategies of selecting the best microalgae strain to treat a specific wastewater or pollutant and using a natural or an artificial consortium to perform the treatment will be detailed. The process options for treating wastewaters using microalgae will be discussed up to the final valorization of the biomass. The last part is dedicated to the challenges which research need to address in order to develop the potential of microalgae to treat wastewaters.