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Published on: January 7, 2019
An Overview of Bioproducts from Wastewater-Grown Microalgae: Recent Advancements, Economic and Feasibility Concerns
Alexandru Vlaicu1, Ana-Maria Surupăceanu1, Alin Cristian Nicolae Vintilă1
1National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry-ICECHIM, Spl. Independentei Nr. 202, Sector 6, 060021 Bucharest, Romania.
Abstract:
Global wastewater generated in unprecedented volumes places a significant strain on aquatic environments, challenging the municipal sector to transition from energy-heavy pollutant removal technologies towards alternative resource recovery strategies with a low carbon footprint. The aim of this work is to review microalgae-based phycoremediation as a sustainable, cost-effective alternative that extracts nutrients from municipal, agricultural, and industrial streams without generating secondary chemical pollution. By utilizing these nutrient-rich effluents, microalgal cultivation generates valuable biomass for downstream valorization into biofuels, biofertilizers, biostimulants, and high-value biopolymers, while eliminating or reducing the costs of synthetic cultivation mediums. However, integrated techno-economic analyses (TEA) and life cycle assessments (LCA) reveal critical socio-technical bottlenecks.
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