Microalgae harvesting for wastewater treatment and resources recovery: A review.

Microalgae-based wastewater treatment has been conceived to obtain reclaimed water and produce microalgal biomass for bio-based products and biofuels generation. However, microalgal biomass harvesting is challenging and expensive, hence one of the main bottlenecks for full-scale implementation. Finding an integrated approach that covers concepts of engineering, green chemistry and the application of microbial anabolism driven towards the harvesting processes, is mandatory for the widespread establishment of full-scale microalgae wastewater treatment plants. By using nature-based substances and applying concepts of chemical functionalization in already established harvesting methods, the costs of harvesting processes could be reduced while preventing microalgae biomass contamination. Moreover, microalgae produced during wastewater treatment have unique culture characteristics, such as the consortia, which are primarily composed of microalgae and bacteria, that should be accounted for prior to downstream processing. The aim of this review is to examine recent advances in microalgal biomass harvesting and recovery in wastewater treatment systems, considering the impact of consortia variability. The costs of available harvesting technologies, such as coagulation/flocculation, coupled to sedimentation and differential air flotation, are provided. Additionally, promising technologies are discussed, including autoflocculation, bioflocculation, new filtration materials, nanotechnology, microfluidic and magnetic methods.

Biological CO2 mitigation by microalgae: technological trends, future prospects and challenges.

The increase in the CO2 concentration in the Earth's atmosphere has been a topic of worldwide concern since anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases began increasing considerably during the industrial period. The effects of these mass emissions are probably the main cause of global warming, which has been observed over recent decades. Among the various techniques of CO2 capture, microalgal biofixation by photosynthesis is considered a promising technology due to the efficiency of these microorganisms in converting this gas into organic compounds through its use as a nutrient in the culture medium. Over the years, several research centers have developed studies on this subject, which have focused on mainly the development of bioreactors, the growth conditions that increase the efficiency of the process and the production of biomass with applicability in several areas. The biological mitigation of CO2 by microalgae has many advantages, including reductions in the concentration of an industrially sourced greenhouse gas and the energy or food obtained from the produced photosynthetic biomass. This versatility allows for the cultivation of economically useful biomass while reducing the environmental impacts of industrial facilities. In this context, this mini-review aims to discuss new technologies and strategies along with the main challenges and future prospects in the field and the ecological and economic impacts of CO2 biofixation by microalgae.

Cultivation of different microalgae with pentose as carbon source and the effects on the carbohydrate content.

In the search for alternative carbon sources for microalgae cultivation, pentoses can be considered interesting alternatives since the most abundant global source of renewable biomass is lignocellulosic waste, which contains significant quantities of pentoses. However, the use of pentoses (C5) in the cultivation of microalgae is still not widely studied and only recently the first metabolic pathway for pentose absorption in microalgae was proposed. So, the objective of this work was to evaluate if the use of pentoses affects the growth and carbohydrates content of Chlorella minutissima, Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorella homosphaera and Dunaliella salina. The kinetic parameters, carbohydrate and protein content and the theoretical potential for ethanol production were estimated for all strains. The highest cellular concentrations (1.25 g L-1) were obtained for D. salina with 5% of pentoses. The addition of pentoses leads to high levels of carbohydrates for C. minutissima (58.6%) cultured with 5% of pentoses, and from this biomass, it is possible to determine a theoretical production of ethanol of 38 mL per 100 g of biomass. The pentoses affect the growth and the biomass composition of the studied strains, generating biomass with potential use for bioethanol production.

Outdoor pilot-scale cultivation of Spirulina sp. LEB-18 in different geographic locations for evaluating its growth and chemical composition.

This study evaluated whether outdoor cultivation of Spirulina sp. in different geographical locations affected its growth and biomass quality, with respect to the chemical composition, volatile compound and heavy metal content, and thermal stability. The positive effect of solar radiation and temperature on biomass productivity in Spirulina sp. cultivated in the northeast was directly related to its improved nutritional characteristics, which occurred with an increase in protein, phycocyanin, and polyunsaturated fatty acid (mainly γ-linolenic) content. The biomass produced in Northeast and South Brazil showed high thermal stability and had volatile compounds that could be used as biomarkers of Spirulina, and their parameters were within the limits of internationally recognized standards for food additives; hence, they have been considered safe foods. However, the growth of crops in south Brazil occurred at lower rates due to low temperatures and luminous intensities, indicative of the robustness of microalgae in relation to these parameters.

Biological CO2 mitigation from coal power plant by Chlorella fusca and Spirulina sp.

CO2 biofixation by microalgae and cyanobacteria is an environmentally sustainable way to mitigate coal burn gas emissions. In this work the microalga Chlorella fusca LEB 111 and the cyanobacteria Spirulina sp. LEB 18 were cultivated using CO2 from coal flue gas as a carbon source. The intermittent flue gas injection in the cultures enable the cells growth and CO2 biofixation by these microorganisms. The Chlorella fusca isolated from a coal power plant could fix 2.6 times more CO2 than Spirulina sp. The maximum daily CO2 from coal flue gas biofixation was obtained with Chlorella fusca (360.12±0.27mgL-1d-1), showing a specific growth rate of 0.17±<0.01d-1. The results demonstrated the Chlorella fusca LEB 111 and Spirulina sp. LEB 18 potential to fix CO2 from coal flue gas, and sequential biomass production with different biotechnological destinations.

Biologically Active Metabolites Synthesized by Microalgae.

Microalgae are microorganisms that have different morphological, physiological, and genetic traits that confer the ability to produce different biologically active metabolites. Microalgal biotechnology has become a subject of study for various fields, due to the varied bioproducts that can be obtained from these microorganisms. When microalgal cultivation processes are better understood, microalgae can become an environmentally friendly and economically viable source of compounds of interest, because production can be optimized in a controlled culture. The bioactive compounds derived from microalgae have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities, among others. Furthermore, these microorganisms have the ability to promote health and reduce the risk of the development of degenerative diseases. In this context, the aim of this review is to discuss bioactive metabolites produced by microalgae for possible applications in the life sciences.

Biological effects of Spirulina (Arthrospira) biopolymers and biomass in the development of nanostructured scaffolds.

Spirulina is produced from pure cultures of the photosynthetic prokaryotic cyanobacteria Arthrospira. For many years research centers throughout the world have studied its application in various scientific fields, especially in foods and medicine. The biomass produced from Spirulina cultivation contains a variety of biocompounds, including biopeptides, biopolymers, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, minerals, oligoelements, and sterols. Some of these compounds are bioactive and have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, and antifungal properties. These compounds can be used in tissue engineering, the interdisciplinary field that combines techniques from cell science, engineering, and materials science and which has grown in importance over the past few decades. Spirulina biomass can be used to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), biopolymers that can substitute synthetic polymers in the construction of engineered extracellular matrices (scaffolds) for use in tissue cultures or bioactive molecule construction. This review describes the development of nanostructured scaffolds based on biopolymers extracted from microalgae and biomass from Spirulina production. These scaffolds have the potential to encourage cell growth while reducing the risk of organ or tissue rejection.