Algae Technologies for Environmental Management and Bioremediation

The application of algal-based bioremediation technologies hold the promise to recycle high content of N, P, and micronutrients already loaded in different wastewater streams which can potentially reduce environmental impact of the industry, while generating an interesting biomass which can be transformed into renewable metabolites with different grades of usability (from low to high-end products), including biopesticides, biofertilizers, animal feed and high-value metabolites such as colorants and food additives. However, different challenges such as the optimization of upstream and downstream processes must be overcome to deliver the true potential of algal-based bioremediation processes. The following chapter summarizes state-of-the-art and the challenges in the usage of microalgal and cyanobacterial strains in the recovery of nutrients and the synthesis of bio-based products from different wastewaters.