MICROALGAE-BASED WASTEWATER DEWATERING BY FORWARD OSMOSIS

Increase of population and clean water needs, as well as deterioration of water resource quality and quantity, are grand challenges of the century ۲۱st. In this regard, treatment of unconventional waters including; desalination of brackish and sea waters as well as reclamation of wastewaters with sustainable technologies would be an appropriate solution. Moreover, microalgae-based wastewater treatment is considered as an effective way of pollutants removal by nutrients fixiation (Delrue et al., ۲۰۱۶). Algae-based technologies have been determined as prospective alternative to traditional wastewater treatment methods which stand on biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and nutrients discharge (Jiang et al., ۲۰۲۰). The bio-products production from microalgae would be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly if wastewater comeinto use as cultivation media (Figure ۱).