Enhanced sustainable integration of CO2 utilization and wastewater treatment using microalgae in circular economy concept

Microalgae have been shown to have a promising potential for CO2 utilization and wastewater treatment which still faces the challenges of high resource and energy requirements. The implementation of the circular economy concept is able to address the issues that limit the application of microalgae-based technologies. In this review, a comprehensive discussion on microalgae-based CO2 utilization and wastewater treatment was provided, and the integration of this technology with the circular economy concept, for long-term economic and environmental benefits, was described. Furthermore, technological challenges and feasible strategies towards the improvement of microalgae cultivation were discussed. Finally, necessary regulations and effective policies favoring the implementation of microalgae cultivation into the circular economy were proposed. These are discussed to support sustainable development of microalgae-based bioremediation and bioproduction. This work provides new insights into the implementation of the circular economy concept into microalgae-based CO2 utilization and wastewater treatment to enhance sustainable production.