Phycoremediation – An emerging technique for dye abatement: An overview

•A comprehensive review of the different fundamental aspects of algal remediation of dyes.•Emerging trends of dye abatement methods using algae.•Insight into the future perspectives of the algal dye detoxification methods. Treatment of dye-containing wastewater is a major challenge for mankind that has gained much interest from the scientific community owing to the growing concerns of environmental safety and legislations. Thus, it becomes imperative to explore green and self-sustainable dye abatement methods. Phycoremediation is emerging as a new age technology with the goal of decolorization and detoxification of the hazardous dye laden effluents. The underlying mechanisms of phycoremediation of dyes are biodegradation, biosorption, and biocoagulation, which are influenced by several physicochemical and biological factors such as pH, temperature, contact time, surface characteristics, concentration and particle size of the algal biomass, chemical composition and concentration of the dye. This review provides a comprehensive insight into the potential, performance, and applications of phycoremediation methods in terms of the mechanisms, major determinants of phycoremediation processes, physical and chemical pretreatment methods of the algal biomass, and their effects on dye removal. The present article also discusses the emerging aspects of phycoremediation such as immobilization of algae, algal nanoparticles, activated carbon, and algal microbial fuel cell (A-MFC) for dye remediation along with the research gaps and future prospects. It was concluded from the literature review that immobilized algae and algal biochar exhibit enhanced dye uptake capacity due to improved porosity and surface characteristics. A-MFC can be used for simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation. Furthermore, the generation of value-added products from algal biomass used in wastewater treatment has the potential for waste to wealth creation resulting in the improvement in economic feasibilities of the treatment process.