ABSTRACT
The use of algae to remove pollutants from water, algal bioremediation, has been well studied over the past 40 years [1], [2], [3], [4]. Since the 1980s considerable research effort has been devoted to the development of algal biosorbents to remediate pollutants, particularly heavy metals [5]. At the laboratory scale these preparations have proven spectacularly successful at sorbing pollutants, especially heavy metals [5], [6]. However, uptake of the concept has been lack-lustre, evidenced by the lack of successful commercialisation (e.g. AlgaSORB circa 1991). This is likely because available algal (seaweed) biomass that is produced has established markets as food and as food ingredients (see Chopin and Sawhney [7] for market details). Furthermore, amongst the most successful preparations
developed are those from brown macroalgae [8] which already have particularly well established markets and command a high price. A cheaper, reliable and locally derived source of biomass is critical [4], and remains a bottleneck for commercial applications of algae in bioremediation.
