Elsevier

Science of The Total Environment

Volume 665, 15 May 2019, Pages 358-366
Science of The Total Environment

Review
Algal-based removal strategies for hazardous contaminants from the environment – A review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.129Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We reviewed algal-based removal strategies for hazardous contaminants.

  • Open pond bioreactor and bubble column photo-bioreactor are discussed.

  • New opportunities for wastewater treatment and reduction are presented.

Abstract

Owing to the controlled or uncontrolled industrial wastewater disposal, pharmaceutical-based hazardous emerging contaminants (ECs) can be found in the environment all over the world. With ever-increasing socioeconomic aspects and environmental awareness, people are now more concerns about the widespread occurrences of hazardous and persistent contaminants, around the globe. In this context, several studies have already shown that various types of emerging and/or re-emerging contaminants, regardless the source, type and concentration, are of supreme threat to the living system of flora and fauna. Recently, algae-based bioreactors have gained special research interest as a promising way to remove pharmaceuticals-based ECs from the wastewater either partially or completely. This paper covers the progress on the removal of selected pharmaceuticals using bioreactors. In laboratory scale studies, high removal percentages have been reached for most selected pharmaceuticals, but data on full-scale bioreactors is limited. In this paper, two types of bioreactors are discussed, i.e., (1) open pond and (2) bubble column photobioreactor, which are considered sustainable and an effective alternative to remove ECs. In these bioreactors, high removal percentages (>90%) have been found for metoprolol, triclosan, and salicylic acid, moderate (50–90%) for carbamazepine and tramadol and very low (<10%) for trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin by inoculating different microalgae. This technique may open new opportunities for the treatment of wastewater and reduce the environmental pollution that can have adverse effects on the ecosystem and human health. In summary, the present review focuses on the microalgae for wastewater remediation. An effort has also been made to describe the generalities of the photobioreactor.

Introduction

Emerging contaminants (ECs) are defined as naturally occurring, manufactured or manmade chemicals or materials found in the environment whose toxicity or persistence are likely to affect the metabolism of a living being significantly. This includes active ingredients from numerous industrial sectors such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, hormones, flame retardants, nanoparticles and so on (Sauvé and Desrosiers, 2014; Bilal et al., 2019; Rasheed et al., 2019). Currently, there is a great variation in the elimination of ECs from approximately 12.5 to 100% in conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) (Luo et al., 2014).

For the most part, the pharmaceutical contaminants cannot efficiently remove in conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), basically designed to remove organic matter and nutrients (Ahmed et al., 2017; Clara et al., 2005; Franka et al., 2016). The elimination of organic contaminants depends on treatment conditions of the elimination process (e.g., hydraulic residence time and the organic loading rate) and environmental conditions (sunlight, temperature, redox conditions, pH and presence of toxic compounds such as heavy metals) (Luo et al., 2014). However, the physicochemical properties of these compounds (e.g., hydrophobicity and biodegradability) are the reason why they are found in the environment (Topp et al., 2013), and this is a problem since long-term exposure of even low concentration of certain pharmaceuticals can harm water organism such as bacteria, algae, fish and plants (Klavarioti et al., 2009). Some acute and chronic damages to water organisms are: change of behavior (Stanley et al., 2007; Gaworecki and Klaine, 2008), accumulation of pharmaceuticals contaminants in tissues (Brooks et al., 2003), damaging of the reproductive system (Nentwig, 2007) and inhibition of cell proliferation (Fabbri and Franzellitti, 2016; Jennifer et al., 2017). This does not seem to be a local problem as a significant number of pharmaceuticals have been found in all over the world. This includes but is not limited to (1) Canada (Chen et al., 2015), (2) China (Xiang et al., 2018), (3) India (Rutgersson et al., 2014), (4) Mexico (Gibson et al., 2010) and (5) Scotland (Nebot et al., 2015).

There are several methods to make sure ECs do not enter the environment (Fig. 1). This paper focusses on the removal processes by biological degradation of ECs present in the industrial wastewater. Mainly microalgae responsible for the degradation process of ECs are deeply discussed. This paper focusses on the pharmaceutical-based ECs such as ciprofloxacin, metoprolol, tramadol, triclosan, salicylic acid, carbamazepine, levofloxacin and trimethoprim as most studied in recent years. Fig. 2 illustrates algal-based bioreactors/strategies to tackle or remove pharmaceutical-based ECs.

Section snippets

Strategies to remove pharmaceutical-based ECs

The list of pharmaceutical-based ECs detected in urban WWTPs include antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, antidepressants, analgesics, anti-epileptics, anxiolytics, beta-blockers, blood lipid regulators, contrast media, cytostatic and hormones, especially oral contraceptives (Choubert et al., 2009). Various contaminants along with their potential environmental risks and susceptibility to the removal process are summarized in Table 1. The limited removal of pharmaceutical contaminants through the

Bioreactors - open pond

Open ponds are artificial pools with limited depth (around 0.03–0-07 m) and used to grow microalgae without stirring (Meneses-Jácome et al., 2016). This type of bioreactors are usually used in industrial and agricultural wastewaters treatment (Christenson and Sims, 2011; Norvill et al., 2016, Norvill et al., 2017; Park et al., 2011; Pessoa, 2012; Rogers et al., 2014; Rühmland et al., 2015; Zhu et al., 2014). The advantages of open ponds system for microalgae cultivation are the low cost of

Bubble column photobioreactors

Tubular photobioreactors (PBRs) are closed systems (Fig. 4) (Singh and Sharma, 2012), mainly designed in vertical, horizontal and helical shape, this PBRs consists of transparent tubes that allow the penetration of natural or artificial light (Christenson and Sims, 2011). Closed PBRs provide a closely controlled environment with the aim to isolate the microalgal strain, guaranteeing the increase in productivity, quality of the biomass and wider choice of strains can be explored. These

Research gaps

The research gaps can be divided into three different categories. First of all, it's necessary to test more algae species on their ability to remove the contaminants. In this aspect, special attention must be paid to slow kinetics for the removal of some contaminants by microalgae. It is necessary to find a compromise solution to establish hydraulic retention times long enough to carry out the degradation of the emerging and economically feasible contaminants from the point of view of reactor

Concluding remarks and future perspectives

Pharmaceuticals as ECs show danger to our environment which calls for methods to remove them in wastewater treatments. Algae mediated removal is one of the possible ways to remove the pharmaceuticals. In laboratory scale high removal percentages have been reached for ciprofloxacin, metoprolol, tramadol, triclosan, and salicylic acid, carbamazepine and trimethoprim show fewer promising results with only moderate removal. The results collected look promising, especially the lab-scale studies

Acknowledgment

All authors are grateful to their representative institutes/universities for providing literature facilities.

References (119)

  • M. Clara et al.

    Removal of selected pharmaceuticals, fragrances and endocrine disrupting compounds in a membrane bioreactor and conventional wastewater treatment plants

    Water Res.

    (2005)
  • M. Cleuvers

    Initial risk assessment for three β-blockers found in the aquatic environment

    Chemosphere

    (2005)
  • C. Cruz-Morató et al.

    Hospital wastewater treatment by fungal bioreactor: removal efficiency for pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptor compounds

    Sci. Total Environ.

    (2014)
  • S.P. Cuellar-Bermudez et al.

    Photosynthetic bioenergy utilizing CO2: an approach on flue gases utilization for third generation biofuels

    J. Clean. Prod.

    (2015)
  • S.P. Cuellar-Bermudez et al.

    Nutrients utilization and contaminants removal. A review of two approaches of algae and cyanobacteria in wastewater

    Algal Res.

    (2017)
  • A. Dal Pozzo et al.

    “In vitro” model for the evaluation of drug distribution and plasma protein-binding relationships

    Int. J. Pharm.

    (1989)
  • M. D'Alessio et al.

    Pharmaceutically active compounds: their removal during slow sand filtration and their impact on slow sand filtration bacterial removal

    Sci. Total Environ.

    (2015)
  • I. de Godos et al.

    Tetracycline removal during wastewater treatment in high-rate algal ponds

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2012)
  • A. Demirbas

    Use of algae as biofuel sources

    Energy Convers. Manag.

    (2010)
  • T.E. Doll et al.

    Fate of pharmaceuticals—photodegradation by simulated solar UV-light

    Chemosphere

    (2003)
  • A.V. Dordio et al.

    Mechanisms of removal of three widespread pharmaceuticals by two clay materials

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2017)
  • C. Escapa et al.

    Nutrients and pharmaceuticals removal from wastewater by culture and harvesting of Chlorella sorokiniana

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2015)
  • C. Escapa et al.

    Comparative assessment of diclofenac removal from water by different microalgae strains

    Algal Res.

    (2016)
  • C. Escapa et al.

    Paracetamol and salicylic acid removal from contaminated water by microalgae

    J. Environ. Manag.

    (2017)
  • C.E. Gattullo et al.

    Removal of bisphenol A by the freshwater green alga Monoraphidium braunii and the role of natural organic matter

    Sci. Total Environ.

    (2012)
  • K.M. Gaworecki et al.

    Behavioral and biochemical responses of hybrid striped bass during and after fluoxetine exposure

    Aquat. Toxicol.

    (2008)
  • A. Ghosh et al.

    Progress toward isolation of strains and genetically engineered strains of microalgae for production of biofuel and other value added chemicals: a review

    Energy Convers. Manag.

    (2016)
  • R. Gibson et al.

    Accumulation and leaching potential of some pharmaceuticals and potential endocrine disruptors in soils irrigated with wastewater in the Tula Valley, Mexico

    Chemosphere

    (2010)
  • J. Gomes et al.

    Application of ozonation for pharmaceuticals and personal care products removal from water

    Sci. Total Environ.

    (2017)
  • L. Gouveia et al.

    Microalgae biomass production using wastewater: treatment and costs. Scale-up considerations

    Algal Res.

    (2016)
  • J. Han et al.

    Effects of trimethoprim on life history parameters, oxidative stress, and the expression of cytochrome P450 genes in the copepod Tigriopus japonicus

    Chemosphere

    (2016)
  • L. Haroune et al.

    Evaluation of the efficiency of Trametes hirsuta for the removal of multiple pharmaceutical compounds under low concentrations relevant to the environment

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2014)
  • H. Hektoen et al.

    Persistence of antibacterial agents in marine sediments

    Aquaculture

    (1995)
  • A. Jos et al.

    Ecotoxicological evaluation of carbamazepine using six different model systems with eighteen endpoints

    Toxicol. in Vitro

    (2003)
  • Y. Luo et al.

    A review on the occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment and their fate and removal during wastewater treatment

    Sci. Total Environ.

    (2014)
  • S.K. Maity

    Opportunities, recent trends and challenges of integrated biorefinery: part II

    Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.

    (2015)
  • J. Maszkowska et al.

    Beta-blockers in the environment: part II. Ecotoxicity study

    Sci. Total Environ.

    (2014)
  • V. Matamoros et al.

    Capability of microalgae-based wastewater treatment systems to remove emerging organic contaminants: a pilot-scale study

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2015)
  • V. Matamoros et al.

    Assessment of the mechanisms involved in the removal of emerging contaminants by microalgae from wastewater: a laboratory scale study

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2016)
  • A. Meneses-Jácome et al.

    Sustainable energy from agro-industrial wastewaters in Latin-America

    Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.

    (2016)
  • T. Mutanda et al.

    Bioprospecting for hyper-lipid producing microalgal strains for sustainable biofuel production

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2011)
  • Z.N. Norvill et al.

    Photodegradation and sorption govern tetracycline removal during wastewater treatment in algal ponds

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2017)
  • J.B.K. Park et al.

    Wastewater treatment high rate algal ponds for biofuel production

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2011)
  • L. Prieto-Rodriguez et al.

    Treatment of emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) effluents by solar photocatalysis using low TiO 2 concentrations

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2012)
  • T. Rasheed et al.

    Environmentally-related contaminants of high concern: potential sources and analytical modalities for detection, quantification, and treatment

    Environ. Int.

    (2019)
  • I. Rawat et al.

    Dual role of microalgae: phycoremediation of domestic wastewater and biomass production for sustainable biofuels production

    Appl. Energy

    (2011)
  • L. Rizzo et al.

    Heterogenous photocatalytic degradation kinetics and detoxification of an urban wastewater treatment plant effluent contaminated with pharmaceuticals

    Water Res.

    (2009)
  • J.N. Rogers et al.

    A critical analysis of paddlewheel-driven raceway ponds for algal biofuel production at commercial scales

    Algal Res.

    (2014)
  • J.N. Rosenberg et al.

    A green light for engineered algae: redirecting metabolism to fuel a biotechnology revolution

    Curr. Opin. Biotechnol.

    (2008)
  • P.C. Rúa-Gómez et al.

    Degradation of lidocaine, tramadol, venlafaxine and the metabolites O-desmethyltramadol and O-desmethylvenlafaxine in surface waters

    Chemosphere

    (2013)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text