Recent Advancements in Urban Wastewater Management—Recommendations and Future Directions

The expansion of human population and anthropogenic activities include mining, release of industrial waste, smelting of as-ore, incineration of fossil fuel, particularly coal, utilization of as-loaded water for irrigation, as-based pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have affected the availability of water resources for human consumption. Urban wastewater includes the presence of contaminants which are toxic to micro and macro-organisms and thus requires treatment. Microalgae are studied extensively for their efficiency to remediate the contaminants present in industrial and domestic effluents. Scientists focus on microalgae-based remediation of wastewater because of the ability of microalgae to grow and survive under diversified harsh environmental conditions. Carbon dioxide mitigation is a major role played by microalgae indicating an added benefit to the environment. Introduction of microalgae in remediation is much involved due to their contribution to the circular bio-economy approach which includes generation of integral bio-products during the traditional wastewater process. This systematic review focusses on the application of microalgae in urban wastewater treatment with discussion on remediation strategies and mechanisms followed for pollutants present in the wastewater. Additionally, the paper dwells on the future prospect of microalgae in incorporation of circular bioeconomy along with the wastewater remediation.