ABSTRACT
There has been a mounting concern over the conventional wastewater treatment process because of the high energy consumption, emission of greenhouse gases, and massive environmental footprint associated with this process. In recent years, there has been an advancement in the wastewater treatment process by integrating algal-based wastewater treatment with conventional wastewater treatment to make the process sustainable. Phycoremediation technology not only offers a well-designed treatment strategy by accumulating nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, and toxic compounds from wastewater but also contributes towards resource recovery and recycling. The valuable biomass obtained can be used to produce biofuels, animal feed, and fertilizers, and it can be put to agricultural use, thus enhancing productivity and sustainability. This chapter explores the role of algae and cyanobacteria in the wastewater treatment process, innovation in algae growth and cultivation strategy, harvesting biomass, and downstream processing. Special emphasis is given to the progress in molecular biology, metabolomics, and other “omics” opportunities for algal biotechnology advancement.
