Microalgae Cultivation in Wastewater From Agricultural Industries to Benefit Next Generation of Bioremediation: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide a bibliometric analysis and mapping of existing scientific papers, focusing on microalgae cultivation coupled with biomass production and bioremediation of wastewater from cassava, dairy, and coffee industries. Using the Web of Science (WoS) database for the period 1996–2019, a search was performed using a keyword strategy, aiming at segregating the papers in groups. The keywords used in this search were “wastewater treatment,” “microalgae,” “cassava,” “dairy,” and “coffee” for the first step, resulting in 114 papers; for the second step, we used the keywords “wastewater treatment,” “biomass productivity,” “microalgae,” “economic viability,” and “environmental impacts,” which resulted in 29 scientific papers. In these papers, keywords such as “carbon dioxide biofixation” and “removal of nutrients by the production of biomass by microalgae” followed by “environmental and economic impacts” were highlighted. Some of these papers also presented an analysis of the economic feasibility of the process, including costs of production systems, which reveal the state-of-the-art setup required to make the cultivation of microalgae economically viable. Research in eco-industrial parks is needed to improve the integration of microalgae production systems using wastewater as a source of nutrients, aiming to achieve the global goal of bioremediation and clean alternatives for renewable energy generation.