Although the use of algae in wastewater treatment has a long history, advances in algal biotechnology and wastewater treatments present a promising frontier in sustainable, environmental management.

Algae-based systems, both macro and microalgae, offer several benefits. They can effectively remove nutrients, heavy metals and complex xenobiotic molecules  allowing reuse or safe discharge of the wastewater as well as potentially generating valuable biomass for multiple applications including terrestrial agriculture, biofuels, bioplastics, animal feed and other bioproducts.

As global concerns over water scarcity, pollution, and climate change intensify, innovative and eco-friendly, economically viable, scalable and sustainable wastewater treatment technologies are more critical than ever.

Despite this potential, several challenges remain in scaling-up and optimizing algal-based treatment systems. These include improving nutrient uptake efficiency, managing microbial interactions, ensuring system stability under variable environmental conditions, harvesting the algal biomass, and integrating algal processes with existing infrastructure. Moreover, economic viability and regulatory frameworks continue to shape the adoption of these technologies.

This topical collection aims to bring together cutting-edge research addressing these challenges and significantly advancing the field.

We invite submissions on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Algal species selection and cultivation strategies for wastewater treatment
• Nutrient removal and recovery from wastewater streams using microalgae and macroalgae
• Integration of algal systems with conventional wastewater treatment technologies
• Photobioreactor design and optimization for wastewater applications
• Algae-bacteria-fungi consortia and microbial interactions in treatment systems
• Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of algae-based treatments and their up-scaling to commercially successful operations 
• Metabolic engineering and modification of target of algae for enhanced pollutant removal
• Use of urban, industrial and agricultural wastewater for algal biomass production
• Use and valorization of the wastewater-grown algal biomass
• Circular economy approaches involving algae and wastewater reuse
• Policy, regulation, and public perception of algae-based wastewater treatments
• Case studies of pilot-scale to commercial implementations of algal treatment systems
• Advances in monitoring, automation, potential use of AI, and control of algal treatment processes

If you want to send a pre-submission enquiry, please contact the journal.

All submissions will be handled by the journal editorial board, peer reviewed as usual and final decisions made by the Editor-in-Chief. 

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the journal submission guidelines.

IMPORTANT: Please do not forget to select this collection when submitting your manuscript.