1
|
Retta B, Iovinella M, Ciniglia C. Significance and Applications of the Thermo-Acidophilic Microalga Galdieria sulphuraria (Cyanidiophytina, Rhodophyta). PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1786. [PMID: 38999626 PMCID: PMC11243675 DOI: 10.3390/plants13131786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2024] [Revised: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Galdieria sulphuraria is a thermo-acidophilic microalga belonging to the Cyanidiophyceae (Rhodophyta) class. It thrives in extreme environments, such as geothermal sulphuric springs, with low pH, high temperatures, and high salinity. This microalga utilises various growth modes, including autotrophic, heterotrophic, and mixotrophic, enabling it to exploit diverse organic carbon sources. Remarkably, G. sulphuraria survives and produces a range of bioactive compounds in these harsh conditions. Moreover, it plays a significant role in environmental remediation by removing nutrients, pathogens, and heavy metals from various wastewater sources. It can also recover rare earth elements from mining wastewater and electronic waste. This review article explores the diverse applications and significant contributions of G. sulphuraria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Berhan Retta
- Department of Engineering, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Roma 29, 81031 Aversa, Italy
| | - Manuela Iovinella
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Claudia Ciniglia
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mehariya S, Das P, Thaher MI, Abdul Quadir M, Khan S, Sayadi S, Hawari AH, Verma P, Bhatia SK, Karthikeyan OP, Zuorro A, Al-Jabri H. Microalgae: A potential bioagent for treatment of emerging contaminants from domestic wastewater. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 351:141245. [PMID: 38242513 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 12/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Water crisis around the world leads to a growing interest in emerging contaminants (ECs) that can affect human health and the environment. Research showed that thousands of compounds from domestic consumers, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), personal care products (PCPs), and pharmaceuticals active compounds (PhAcs), could be found in wastewater in concentration mostly from ng L-1 to μg L-1. However, generally, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not designed to remove these ECs from wastewater to their discharge levels. Scientists are looking for economically feasible biotreatment options enabling the complete removal of ECs before discharge. Microalgae cultivation in domestic wastewater is likely a feasible approach for removing emerging contaminants and simultaneously removing any residual organic nutrients. Microalgal growth rate and contaminants removal efficiency could be affected by various factors, including light intensity, CO2 addition, presence of different nutrients, etc., and these parameters could greatly help make microalgae treatment more efficient. Furthermore, the algal biomass harvests could be repurposed to produce various bulk chemicals such as sustainable aviation fuel, biofuel, bioplastic, and biochar; this could significantly enhance the economic viability. Therefore, this review summarizes the microalgae-based bioprocess and their mechanisms for removing different ECs from different wastewaters and highlights the different strategies to improve the ECs removal efficiency. Furthermore, this review shows the role of different ECs in biomass profile and the relevance of using ECs-treated microalgae biomass to produce green products, as well as highlights the challenges and future research recommendations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanjeet Mehariya
- Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar.
| | - Probir Das
- Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar.
| | - Mahmoud Ibrahim Thaher
- Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mohammed Abdul Quadir
- Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shoyeb Khan
- Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sami Sayadi
- Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - Alaa H Hawari
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - Pradeep Verma
- Bioprocess and Bioenergy Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India
| | - Shashi Kant Bhatia
- Department of Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | - Hareb Al-Jabri
- Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 2713, Doha, Qatar
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Iovinella M, Palmieri M, Papa S, Auciello C, Ventura R, Lombardo F, Race M, Lubritto C, di Cicco MR, Davis SJ, Trifuoggi M, Marano A, Ciniglia C. Biosorption of rare earth elements from luminophores by G. sulphuraria (Cyanidiophytina, Rhodophyta). ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 239:117281. [PMID: 37827370 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Lanthanides are indispensable constituents of modern technologies and are often challenging to acquire from natural resources. The demand for REEs is so high that there is a clear need to develop efficient and eco-friendly recycling methods. In the present study, freeze-dried biomass of the polyextremophile Galdieria sulphuraria was employed to recover REEs from spent fluorescent lamps (FL) luminophores by pretreating the freeze-dried biomass with an acid solution to favour ion exchange and enhance the binding sites on the cell surface available for the metal ions. Lanthanides were extracted from the luminophores using sulfuric acid solutions according to standardised procedures, and the effect of biosorbent dosage (0.5-5 mg/ml) and biosorption time (5-60 min) were evaluated. The content of individual REEs in the luminophores and the resulting algal biomass were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The most abundant REE in the luminophores was yttrium (287.42 mg/g dm, 91.60% of all REEs), followed by europium (20.98 mg/g, 6.69%); cerium, gadolinium, terbium and lanthanum was in trace. The best biosorption performances were achieved after 5 min and at the lowest biosorbent dosage (0.5 mg/mL). The highest total metal amount corresponded to 41.61 mg/g dried mass, and yttrium was the most adsorbed metal (34.59 mg/g dm, 82.88%), followed by cerium (4.01 mg/g); all other metals were less than 2 mg/g. The rapidity of the biosorption process and the low biosorbent dosage required confirmed this microalga as a promising material for creating an eco-sustainable protocol for recycling REEs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Iovinella
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy; Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, YO10 5DD York, UK
| | - M Palmieri
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - S Papa
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - C Auciello
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - R Ventura
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - F Lombardo
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, I-80126, Naples, Italy
| | - M Race
- Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Via Di Biasio, 43, 03043, Cassino, Italy
| | - C Lubritto
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - M R di Cicco
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - S J Davis
- Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, YO10 5DD York, UK
| | - M Trifuoggi
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, I-80126, Naples, Italy
| | - A Marano
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, I-80126, Naples, Italy
| | - C Ciniglia
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy; Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, YO10 5DD York, UK.
| |
Collapse
|