Removal of contaminants of emergenging concern by microalgae-based wastewater treatments and related techniques

Abstract

On this chapter, the role of microalgae in wastewater treatment processes, and especially in the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), is reviewed. Besides, the adequate methodologies needed to evaluate the removal of this type of contaminants are discussed. Microalgae-related processes are a more sustainable alternative to conventional wastewater treatment schemes which allow treating wastewater at a lower cost and energy consumption and recovering nutrients as valuable biomass for different applications, such as the production of biofertilizers, among others. Although the removal of CECs in this type of processes has been scarcely studied, it has been reported that different biotic and abiotic phenomena such as absorption, UV degradation and oxidation are the most relevant. In order to determine the presence of this type of compounds, adequate analytical methods are required, involving the analytical determination by low and high resolution mass spectrometry coupled with gas and liquid chromatography. Additionally, the application of adequate pre-concentration methods is needed to obtain enriched and cleaner extracts suitable for analysis. All these aspects are reviewed on this chapter as a basis for further improvement and scale-up of these processes on an industrial scale.