Bioremediation Using Microalgae and Circular Economy Approach: A Case Study

first_page settings Order Article Reprints Font Type: Arial Georgia Verdana Font Size: Aa Aa Aa Line Spacing:    Column Width:    Background: Open AccessAbstract Bioremediation Using Microalgae and Circular Economy Approach: A Case Study † by Telma Encarnação 1,2,3,*, Artur Mateus 2, Florindo Gaspar 2, Anabela Massano 2, Sara Biscaia 2, Pedro Batalha Guincho 3, Bernardo A. Nogueira 1, Ricardo A. E. Castro 1, Tomás Archer de Carvalho 2, Maria Ermelinda S. Eusébio 1, Rui Fausto 1 and Abílio J. F. N. Sobral 1,* 1 CQC-IMS, Department of Chemistry, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal 2 Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, 2430-028 Marinha Grande, Portugal 3 PTScience, Avenida do Atlântico, N° 16, Office 5.07, Parque das Nações, 1990-019 Lisboa, Portugal * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. † Presented at the Materiais 2022, Marinha Grande, Portugal, 10–13 April 2022. Mater. Proc. 2022, 8(1), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/materproc2022008108 Published: 30 June 2022 (This article belongs to the Proceedings of MATERIAIS 2022) Download Download PDF Download PDF with Cover Download XML Download Epub Versions Notes Water pollution is a global problem that affects our society and all Earth's ecosystems.Nano and microplastics, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, plasticizers, and thousands of other organic and inorganic molecules are found in waters and represent a serious health risk and a challenge in the field of wastewater technology [1,2].Through a sustainable model of circular bioeconomy, potential solutions are proposed and analysed in this study, more specifically, the use of microalgae as a tool in wastewater treatment. At first, the wastewater profile was performed using electronic, optical, and fluorescence microscopies, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), Raman, and atomic absorption spectroscopies. The analyses revealed the presence of different polymeric matrices such as polycarbonate, polyurethanes, and allyl diglycol carbonate. It also showed the presence of heavy metals and persistent organic molecules. After separating the suspended solids, microalgae were used to remove pollutants from wastewater. The separated solids can be used as fillers to produce mortar and polymer-based composites. The microalgae biomass generated in the bioremediation process can be converted into feedstock for biobased products for advanced applications. One such application includes ophthalmic lenses made from polylactic acid (PLA). After the bioremediation using microalgae, the maximisation of lipids, and their extraction, it is possible to obtain feedstock for producing PLA; the lipids can be used as a feedstock for the production of various chemicals. We evaluated the feasibility of PLA for applications in advanced optical products through the thermal and optical analyses using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Polarized light thermo-microscopy (PLTM), and Refractive index and Abbe number measurements. The refractive index and Abbe number of PLA lenses were 1.46 and 55.24, respectively. PLA lens presented good performance compared to the commercial ones and is suitable for its application in ophthalmic lenses.With the approach presented in this work, pollution can be converted into a sustainable economic model.This study presents a case study where industrial wastewater is characterised, reused, bioremediated, and converted. Opportunities and challenges were identified and overcome in the transition toward a more circular economy. Author ContributionsConceptualization, T.E.; methodology, T.E., F.G., A.M. (Anabela Massano), S.B., P.B.G., B.A.N., R.A.E.C. and T.A.d.C.; validation, T.E.; resources, A.M. (Artur Mateus), M.E.S.E., R.F. and A.J.F.N.S.; data curation, T.E., F.G., A.M. (Anabela Massano), S.B. and B.A.N.; writing—T.E.; supervision, T.E.; project administration, T.E. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. FundingThe authors acknowledge the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the project PTDC/BTA-GES/2740/2020_NABIA. The Coimbra Chemistry Centre (CQC) is supported by the FCT through the projects UIDB/00313/2020 and UIDP/00313/2020. CDRSP is financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (UIDB/00481/2020 & UIDP/00481/2020). We are grateful for funding from PTScience which is supported through the programs CENTRO-05-4740-FSE-001526 and FEDER.Institutional Review Board StatementNot applicable.Informed Consent StatementNot applicable.Data Availability StatementData sharing not applicable.Conflicts of InterestThe authors declare no conflict of interest.ReferencesEncarnação, T.; Pais, A.C.C.; Campos, M.G.; Burrows, H.D. Endocrine disrupting chemicals: Impact on human health, wildlife and the environment. Sci. Prog. 2019, 102, 3–42. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]European Commision. Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Towards a Toxic-Free Environment. Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/chemicals/2020/10/SWD_on_Endocrines_disruptors.pdf (accessed on 15 June 2022).Publisher's Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Share and Cite MDPI and ACS Style Encarnação, T.; Mateus, A.; Gaspar, F.; Massano, A.; Biscaia, S.; Guincho, P.B.; Nogueira, B.A.; Castro, R.A.E.; de Carvalho, T.A.; Eusébio, M.E.S.; Fausto, R.; Sobral, A.J.F.N. Bioremediation Using Microalgae and Circular Economy Approach: A Case Study. Mater. Proc. 2022, 8, 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/materproc2022008108 AMA Style Encarnação T, Mateus A, Gaspar F, Massano A, Biscaia S, Guincho PB, Nogueira BA, Castro RAE, de Carvalho TA, Eusébio MES, Fausto R, Sobral AJFN. Bioremediation Using Microalgae and Circular Economy Approach: A Case Study. Materials Proceedings. 2022; 8(1):108. https://doi.org/10.3390/materproc2022008108 Chicago/Turabian Style Encarnação, Telma, Artur Mateus, Florindo Gaspar, Anabela Massano, Sara Biscaia, Pedro Batalha Guincho, Bernardo A. Nogueira, Ricardo A. E. Castro, Tomás Archer de Carvalho, Maria Ermelinda S. Eusébio, Rui Fausto, and Abílio J. F. N. Sobral. 2022. 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