Cultivation of filamentous cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in agro-industrial wastes and wastewaters: A review

Recently research interest has focused on the production of biofuel from microalgae. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that grow utilizing solar energy, nevertheless, the quantities of fertilizers that should be used for their production are enormous. One alternative to the use of synthetic fertilizers is to employ wastes and wastewaters (W&WWs), especially from the agro-industrial sector which are rich in inorganic pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which can be recovered. Simultaneously with the cultivation of microalgae using wastes and wastewaters for biomass production, treatment of the wastes and wastewaters occur through removal of the pollutants. Filamentous cyanobacteria appear to be suitable candidates for cultivation in wastes and wastewaters because they produce biomass in satisfactory quantity and can be harvested relatively easily due to their size and structure. In addition their biomass composition can be manipulated by several environmental and operational factors in order to produce biomass with concrete characteristics. Herein we review the factors that affect the biomass composition of cyanobacteria and present several studies that discuss the culture of filamentous cyanobacteria in agro-industrial wastes and wastewaters. with special emphasis on Spirulina. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.