ABSTRACT
It has been known that microalgae are efficient solar converters, able to sequester CO2 photosynthetically, utilize nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in addition to organic compounds from various wastes as municipal and industrial wastewaters and accumulate metals from aquatic environments. They can also survive in harsh conditions that would harm other creatures. Microalgae can be applied in waste remediation either in the form of single species monoculture or in the form of combined consortia, either as combined microalgal species or as microalgal-bacterial consortia. Application of remediating consortia is more effective due to the cooperative role of each organism. Moreover, the process of microalgal-based waste treatment offers an interesting option to engage the biomass in various applications as biofuel and pharmaceuticals industries. This adds an interesting value for using microalgae in bioremediation process, providing a dual eco-friendly and economically feasible benefit. This chapter reviews the recent studies applying microalgae for degradation of xenobiotics and remediation of various types of wastewaters, including municipal, agricultural, and industrial ones, along with the desalination concentrate (DC) (brine), in addition to attempts to valorize the resulting biomass for various useful applications, such as biogas and biodiesel production, or simply as animal feed.
