Improved microalgae strains with superior growth and greater efficiency for the treatment of industrial wastewater

During oil and natural gas production, so-called "produced water" comprises the largest byproduct stream. OIi and gas produced water may serve a range of beneficial purposes, partlcutarly In arid regions, If managed correctly. Numerous treatment technologies have been developed that allow for lnjectlon, discharge to the land surface, or beneficial reuse. Bloremedlatlon Is the process by which biological activities rid an environment of chemical pollutants. Most commonly, bioremediation employs mlaobes containing enzymes able to transform and decompose the pollutant. Many ecosystems are thought to contain a natural population of microbes with the capacitf to degrade hydrocarbons. Mlcroalgae play an Important role In controlllng and blomonltoring of organic pollutants In aquatic ecosystem and the use of microatgae in bioremediation of colored wastewater has attracted great interest due to thelr central role In carbon dioxide fixation. In addition, the algae biomass generated has great potentlal as feedstock for blofuel production. Thus, these bioremedlation capabilities of mfcroalgae are useful for environmental sustainability. However, the primary challenge to bioremedlatlon ls that the Indigenous population of microbes may not have the capacity to degrade all contaminants present, or their ability to degrade the contaminants may be hindered by the eventual lack of other resources (I.e. while there Isplenty of carbon available In the oil, nitrogen or phosphorous become limiting nutrients). To overcome these obstacles, genetic engineering can solve this problem and offers a promising tool to Improve the absorption ar.d bloremedlatlon of many wastewater pollutants. CRISPR (clustered regularly lnterspaced short palindromic repeats)-based methods have been developed, making targeted gene disruption and editing possible. Genetic engineering toolkits are becoming publicly available and should accelerate development of robust organisms to treat wastewater treatments.

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)