Setyo Budi Kurniawan, Mária Čížková, Azmi Ahmad, Yudha Gusti Wibowo, Nor Sakinah Mohd Said, Hajjar Hartini Wan Jusoh, Azimah Ismail, Muhammad Fauzul Imron
Microalgae-based wastewater treatment is an alternative to physico-chemical and bacteria-based technologies. Microalgae-based wastewater treatment showed enormous potential, not only exhibiting excellent pollutant removal efficiencies but also unlimited opportunities for resource recovery. Despite its promising future, the question of selecting autotrophy or heterotrophy regimes for optimal organic pollutant removal remains. This current work juxtaposes the performance of autotrophic and heterotrophic cultures in treating organic-rich wastewater to shed light on the unsolved puzzle. This review paper details the autotrophy and heterotrophy growth regimes for microalgae, as well as highlights the source of organic-rich wastewater and its characteristics. A clear comparison between both regimes was then discussed with recent references. Heterotrophic cultures showed better parameter removal performances, especially carbon-related and N-related compounds, while the removal of P-related compounds is considerably similar. Heterotrophic regimes also resulted in higher biomass yield with higher P content as compared to autotrophy. Despite their superiority, heterotrophic regimes continuously require additional carbon sources, posing a cost-related limitation. In contrast, autotrophic culture has an added value of carbon sequestration, making it beneficial for climate mitigation and lowering operational costs. Future research should concentrate on techno-economic and cost-benefit analyses to further refine the currently discussed topic. © 2025
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, 43600, Malaysia; East Coast Environmental Research Institute, Gong Badak Campus, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, 21300, Malaysia; Research Center for Environment and Clean Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia; Department of Phycology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Trebon, Czech Republic; Department of Petrochemical Engineering, Politeknik Tun Syed Nasir Syed Ismail, Hab Pendidikan Tinggi Pagoh, KM 1, Jalan Panchor, Johor, Pagoh, 84600, Malaysia; Center for Green and Sustainable Materials, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Jalan Terusan Ryacudu, Way Hui, Jati Agung, Lampung Selatan, 35365, Indonesia; Department of Mining Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Jalan Terusan Ryacudu, Way Hui, Jati Agung, Lampung Selatan, 35365, Indonesia; Sustainable Mineral Processing Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jalan Grafika No. 2 Kampus UGM Bulaksumur, D.I. Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; Faculty of Bioresource and Food Industry, Besut Campus, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Jerteh, 22020, Malaysia; Faculty of Innovative Design and Technology, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kampung Gong Badak, Terengganu, 21300, Malaysia; Study Program of Environmental Engineering, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga, Kampus C UNAIR, Jalan Mulyorejo, Surabaya, 60115, Indonesia; Sanitary Engineering Section, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, CN Delft, 2628, Netherlands
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