Sustainable microalgal biomass production in food industry wastewater for low-cost biorefinery products: a review

Apr 18, 2022Phytochemistry reviews : proceedings of the Phytochemical Society of Europe

Using Food Industry Wastewater to Grow Microalgae for Affordable Biorefinery Products

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Abstract

Microalgae cultivation in wastewater could provide a low-cost solution for biomass production.

Microalgae are potential biocatalysts for cleaning wastewater.
Wastewater from the food industry offers a less-toxic medium for microalgal growth.
Current methods for wastewater treatment are expensive and may benefit from low-cost alternatives.
Utilizing microalgae for biomass production can support sustainable practices in the bioeconomy.
The review discusses various cultivation methods, nutrient absorption mechanisms, and biomass harvesting processes.

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Microalgae are recognized as cell factories enriched with biochemicals suitable as feedstock for bio-energy, food, feed, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals applications. The industrial application of microalgae is challenging due to hurdles associated with mass cultivation and biomass recovery. The scale-up production of microalgal biomass in freshwater is not a sustainable solution due to the projected increase of freshwater demands in the coming years. Microalgae cultivation in wastewater is encouraged in recent years for sustainable bioeconomy from biorefinery processes. Wastewater from the food industry is a less-toxic growth medium for microalgal biomass production. Traditional wastewater treatment and management processes are expensive; hence it is highly relevant to use low-cost wastewater treatment processes with revenue generation through different products. Microalgae are accepted as potential biocatalysts for the bioremediation of wastewater. Microalgae based purification of wastewater technology could be a universal alternative solution for the recovery of resources from wastewater for low-cost biomass feedstock for industry. This review highlights the importance of microalgal biomass production in food processing wastewater, their characteristics, and different microalgal cultivation methods, followed by nutrient absorption mechanisms. Towards the end of the review, different microalgae biomass harvesting processes with biorefinery products, and void gaps that tend to hinder the biomass production with future perspectives will be intended. Thus, the review could claim to be valuable for sustainable microalgae biomass production for eco-friendly bioproduct conversions.

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Sustainable microalgal biomass production in food industry wastewater for low-cost biorefinery products: a review

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