J. Phycol.
34, 757–763 (1998)
MINIREVIEW
WASTEWATER TREATMENT WITH SUSPENDED AND NONSUSPENDED ALGAE1
James P. Hoffmann2
Department of Botany and Agricultural Biochemistry, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405
Mass culture of algae in wastewater can signifi-
cantly contribute to the management of freshwater
ecosystems by providing a more environmentally
sound approach to reducing the eutrophication po-
tential of point sources of human wastes than is
achieved by current treatment practices. Incorpo-
rating algal systems into conventional wastewater
treatment has the potential to improve the water
quality of the effluent by reducing the nutrient and
metal loads into freshwater ecosystems. The use of
algae to treat wastewater has been investigated for
over 40 years, with one of the first descriptions of
this application being reported by Oswald and Go-
taas (1957). For a historical survey of outdoor algal
mass culture efforts, including wastewater treatment,
see Goldman (1979a) and Soeder (1980). Most re-
search has focused on suspended microalgae grow-
ing in shallow, artificial ponds containing sewage.
However, in recent years there has been an in-
creased research emphasis on the use of nonsus-
pended algae, either as unialgal cultures immobi-
lized in a polymeric matrix or as attached algal com-
munities (biofilm/periphyton) growing in shallow,
artificial streams or on the surfaces of rotating bio-
logical contactors (RBC/biodiscs).
In this minireview, I focus on the use of algae in
advanced treatment of wastewater, comment on
some of the advantages and disadvantages of this
biotechnology, and suggest the likely direction of
future research in this area. First, I briefly survey the
extensive work on suspended algal systems, with em-
phasis on more recent research. Then I follow this
with a more complete summary of the research on
nonsuspended algal systems.
NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
Declining water quality, associated with human ac-
tivities, has created environmental and public health
problems. For example, one cause of the toxic algae
fish kills recently experienced on the east coast of
the United States is thought to be nutrient loading
by wastewater discharge into the rivers that empty
into the estuaries (Glasgow et al. 1995). This nutri-
ent loading can be substantial since many conven-
tional treatment plants discharge .106 L of waste-
water per day, and nutrients in wastewater can be
three orders of magnitude more concentrated than
in the receiving water (de la Noüe et al. 1992).
1 Received 25 November 1997. Accepted 8 June 1998.
2 Author for reprint requests; e-mail jphoffma@zoo.uvm.edu.
757
Chemical- and physical-based technologies are avail-
able to remove nutrients and metals from wastewa-
ter; however, they consume significant amounts of
energy and chemicals and therefore are costly
(Tchobanoglous and Burton 1991). Oswald (1988b)
estimates that the relative cost doubles with each ad-
ditional stage of treatment. Furthermore, chemical-
based treatments often lead to the contamination of
the sludge by-product of conventional treatment
plants. For example, a common tertiary treatment
for phosphorus removal can cause increased levels
of aluminum in the sludge and create problems of
safe disposal.
ROLE OF ALGAE IN SOLVING THE PROBLEM
Algal treatment of wastewater, mediated through
a combination of nutrient uptake, elevated pH, and
high dissolved oxygen concentration, can offer an
ecologically safe, less expensive, and more efficient
means to remove nutrients and metals than conven-
tional tertiary treatment (Oswald 1988a, b, c, Hunt-
ley et al. 1989, Redalje et al. 1989, Lincoln and Earle
1990, de la Noüe et al. 1992). These benefits can be
achieved with little or no use of chemical additives
and, furthermore, may offer the benefit of resource
recovery and recycling (see Table 1 for a compari-
son between algal-based treatment systems and con-
ventional treatment for the removal of phosphorus).
To achieve the desired level of treatment with algal
systems, maximizing autotrophic production is of
primary importance (Goldman 1979b), and basic
principles of algal mass culture (Huntley et al. 1989,
Richmond 1992) must be applied, particularly the
need to effectively harvest the algal biomass in order
to remove the sequestered nutrients. The largest
body of information on how to accomplish accept-
able levels of wastewater treatment with algae is
available for suspended algal systems.
High-Rate Algal Ponds (HRAP) are shallow oxi-
dation ponds that encourage the growth of sus-
pended microalgae. These systems, which are some-
times constructed as raceways (circular channels
with provisions for mixing the microalgae) have
been used throughout the world for wastewater
treatment for many years. Oswald (1988b, c) provid-
ed detailed reviews of these systems. It has been re-
peatedly shown that HRAPs can achieve a high level
of treatment of both domestic and agricultural
wastewater, as measured by reductions in BOD, TSS,
nitrogen, phosphorus, and metals (Shelef et al.
1980, Fallowfield and Garrett 1985, Picot et al. 1991,
758
TABLE 1. Comparison of tertiary treatment technologies for the removal of phosphorus from wastewaters. The treatment type Chemical refers to the
conventional method of concentrating phosphate in sewage sludge by precipitation with aluminum or iron compounds added to the wastewater. The
treatment types HRAP, Immobilized, and Periphyton refer to the algal-based technologies described in the text. Values listed as ranges encompass the reported
data.
Phosphorus concentration
Algal (mg·L21)
Treatment productiona
type (g·m22·day21) Influent Effluent
Chemical — 3–15 0.2–1.0
HRAP 10–35 7–15 0.5–1.0
Immobilized NRb 7–10 ,1–4
Periphyton 10–35 3–5 0.2–1.7
a Dry weight.
b Not reported.
Muttamara et al. 1995). Furthermore, processing of
the harvested algae may result in significant re-
source recovery. For example, the feasibility of using
microalgae to recycle manure nitrogen in a swine
production facility has been demonstrated (Lincoln
1985, Lincoln and Earle 1990). Our understanding
of HRAPs is the most advanced of all the algal treat-
ment systems. The specific details of optimal design
criteria (size, depth, hydraulic loading, flow rates,
etc.) have been thoroughly researched, reviewed,
and updated at regular intervals (see Oswald
[1988a] for the most recent comprehensive treat-
ment of the engineering aspects of these systems).
Algal diversity over an annual cycle in HRAPs tends
to be low (generally #12 taxa) with the genera Chlo-
rella, which has a short generation time, and Scene-
desmus, which is more resistant to predation, often
dominating the community at different times of the
year (Canovas et al. 1995).
There has been considerable effort directed to-
ward modeling HRAPs. The specific objectives of
these efforts have included predicting algal biomass
concentration, productivity, and oxygen production
(Kroon et al. 1989, Martin and Fallowfield 1989);
analyzing the economics of design parameters on
treatment costs (Oron and Shelef 1980); optimizing
algal biomass production (Sukenik et al. 1991); and
exploring the mechanisms responsible for soluble
phosphorus removal (Mesplé 1996). Dynamic com-
puter models have been developed that include spe-
cific details of algal nutrient uptake kinetics and me-
tabolism and that incorporate first principles of the
physicochemical mechanisms of nutrient removal
that operate in these systems. These models are ca-
pable of accurately predicting the observed algal
productivity and treatment efficiency of the systems
(Buhr and Miller 1983, Moreno-Grau et al. 1996).
One of the earliest efforts to remove phosphorus
from sewage with suspended algae was described by
Bogan et al. (1961). More recently, the specific role
of algal-mediated pH increase in the interaction be-
tween calcium and phosphate in HRAPs, with the
subsequent precipitation of phosphate, has been in-
JAMES P. HOFFMANN
Highest reported Range of
percentage residence Selected sources
removed times (days) (see text for others)
.95% 0.3–0.5 Tchobanoglous & Burton 1991
Laliberté et al. 1994
94–97% 2–6 Oswald 1988a, b
Shelef et al. 1980
.90% 0.3–0.8 Travieso et al. 1992
Yan et al. 1996
.95% 0.014–7 Craggs et al. 1996a, b
Hoffmann (unpubl.)
vestigated. A two or more unit increase in pH, due
to intense algal photosynthesis, typically occurs in
these ponds (Azov and Shelef 1987). At high pH,
polyvalent cations, such as calcium and magnesium,
interact with phosphates to precipitate as an algal–
mineral complex (Nurdogan et al. 1993). There-
fore, this mechanism, which is referred to as auto-
flocculation, contributes not only to the lowering of
the phosphorus concentration, but also aids in the
removal of the suspended algae from the effluent.
However, wastewater often is deficient in calcium
and magnesium. Nurdogan et al. (1993) demon-
strated that adding lime to the wastewater increased
phosphorus removal efficiency to .90%. Moutin et
al. (1992) examined, both empirically and theoret-
ically, the chemical mechanisms involved in the re-
duction of phosphate and concluded that ortho-
phosphate concentration was being controlled by
the solubility of a calcium phosphate mineral. How-
ever, subsequent modeling and validation by Mesplé
et al. (1995, 1996) suggested that uptake by sus-
pended algae was more important to orthophospha-
te removal than chemical precipitation.
The principal disadvantage of HRAPs is the diffi-
culty and associated cost of harvesting the small
(,20 mm), suspended microalgae (Huntley et al.
1989). Many harvesting methods (filtration, flota-
tion, flocculation, sedimentation, centrifugation, mi-
crostraining) have been investigated (see Laliberté
et al. [1994] for an overview and Mohn [1988], Os-
wald [1988a], and Huntley et al. [1989] for specific
details of these techniques). Although it is techni-
cally possible to remove these particles, none of the
approaches has proven to be simple, inexpensive,
and suitable to large-scale outdoor cultures. Accept-
able treatment in terms of low effluent BOD, TSS,
and nutrient concentrations cannot be achieved
without adequate harvest of the algal crop (Cromar
et al. 1992). This difficulty has stimulated different
research directions, one of which is the attempt to
select dominant species that are easy to harvest.
Talbot and de la Noüe (1993) cultured an epilith-
ic, filamentous cyanobacterium, Phormidium bohneri,
 WASTEWATER TREATMENT WITH ALGAE
on secondary effluent in the laboratory and found
nutrient removal rates comparable to suspended mi-
croalgae. The tendency for this alga to self-aggregate
and sink to the sediments facilitates its harvesting.
Hashimoto and Furukawa (1989) also found a high
nutrient removal rate and easy harvestability of Os-
cillatoria when it was grown on activated sludge ef-
fluent. However, due to contamination with small,
rapidly growing microalgae, species control in large-
scale, outdoor open systems is a major problem
(Chaumont 1993), and efforts to selectively favor
and sustain the more easily harvested but slower-
growing filamentous forms of algae have had mixed
results. Benemann et al. (1980) used microscreen-
ing of Oscillatoria filaments and the colonial green
alga Micractinium, with subsequent reinoculation
into the algal pond, in an attempt to establish dom-
inance of these easily harvested taxa. They were un-
able to sustain dominance and concluded that bio-
mass recycle was not a satisfactory means of species
control. However, more recent work in South Africa
(Pretorius and Hensman 1985, Wood 1987) has
been more promising. These workers used a com-
bination of short hydraulic retention times to wash
out the smaller suspended microalgae and crossflow
microscreening to retain larger algae and success-
fully sustained dominance by easily harvested Stigeo-
clonium. Biological methods of harvesting the sus-
pended algae have also been investigated. A com-
mon approach that has been successful in the trop-
ics has been to integrate the production of algae
growing on wastewater with aquaculture (see Pan-
tastico [1987] for a review of this topic). An algal–
fish system model was developed by McDonald
(1987), and model output suggested phosphorus re-
moval of $88%. Meiring et al. (1993) achieved
some success by integrating a trickling filter into a
HRAP system. The algae became entrapped in the
biofilm of the trickling filter and were easily har-
vested.
Some of the other concerns with HRAPs, al-
though not as vexing as the difficulty of harvesting
the algae, are related to costs and operational sta-
bility. Although the construction and operation
costs of HRAPs are very favorable compared to con-
ventional treatment systems (Oswald 1988b, c), the
availability and cost of land required for these pond
systems could be prohibitive in urban environments.
Another constraint is climate; these systems function
best in warmer regions not subjected to freezing
winters. The issue of ammonia toxicity to algae has
been investigated and found significant at short hy-
draulic retention times (48 h) when concentrations
above 2 mM NH3 and pH values above 8.0 occurred
(Abeliovich and Azov 1976). However, at longer re-
tention times (several days), higher pH values (be-
tween 9 and 10) were observed which volatilized am-
monia and allowed for continued algal growth (Abe-
liovich and Azov 1976, Azov and Shelef 1987, Picot
et al. 1991, Nurdogan et al. 1993). Different algal
759
species also have different tolerances to ammonia.
An isolate of Chlorella from a waste pond was able to
grow at 10 mM NH3 and was more tolerant than a
Euglena isolate (Konig et al. 1987). Grazing of the
algae by zooplankton in HRAPs can also be signifi-
cant. Canovas et al. (1995) present evidence that
suggests algal species shifts may be partly due to
grazing, and Oswald (1988c) has observed periodic
grazing of Chlorella that was sufficient to deplete the
algae and cause the pond to become anaerobic. In
general, though, when these ponds are properly
managed in terms of organic loading, they are quite
stable in their performance despite changes in algal
community structure.
The use of nonsuspended algae to treat wastewa-
ter is a logical way to obviate the harvesting prob-
lem. Immobilizing microalgae in a polymeric matrix
is one approach that has been investigated. The bio-
technology of immobilizing cells is an extension of
the techniques developed for immobilizing enzymes
and organelles in closed bioreactors for producing
marketable metabolites. Robinson et al. (1986),
Huntley et al. (1989), de la Noüe et al. (1990), and
Becker (1994) have reviewed this technology, as ap-
plied to algae, and they provide specific details of
the technique. The potential advantages are many;
those particularly relevant to wastewater treatment
are better species control, faster removal rates of nu-
trients and therefore higher loading rates, avoid-
ance of washout, and cell-free effluent. Work to date
has all been at the laboratory bench scale.
Studies have consistently indicated efficient and
rapid removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from
wastewater by immobilized algae over a range of
temperatures, pH, and light levels (Chevalier and de
la Noüe 1985, de la Noüe and Proulx 1988, Travieso
et al. 1992, Canizares et al. 1993, 1994, Kaya et al.
1994, Vilchez and Vega 1994, Yan et al. 1996). Ni-
trogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies of
.90% over periods of ,24 h have regularly been
measured. Both Cyanophyceae and Chlorophyceae
taxa have been used in these studies and include
Anabaena, Phormidium, Spirulina, Chlamydomonas,
Chlorella, and Scenedesmus. Carrageenan, chitosan,
and alginate are the polymers often used in these
algal systems, with alginate beads being used most
frequently. A comparison among these polymers
suggests that chitosan enhanced the removal of an-
ions while carrageenan improved cation removal
(Mallick and Rai 1994). Kaya et al. (1994) recently
showed that Scenedesmus immobilized on alginate
sheets achieved higher nutrient uptake rates than
when immobilized on alginate beads. It has also
been shown that a starvation pretreatment of 24 h
increased phosphate uptake rates by 33% (Mallick
and Rai 1994). Heavy metal removal also has been
investigated with immobilized algal systems. Da Cos-
ta and Leite (1991) reported nearly 100% removal
of cadmium and zinc and Wilkinson et al. (1989)
reported .99% removal of mercury by immobilized
760 JAMES P. HOFFMANN
algae; however, it was also observed that subsequent
mercury volatilization was extensive.
Given these high removal rates and efficiencies
and the ease of algal removal, immobilized algal sys-
tems appear to be a good choice for wastewater
treatment. However, when scaled to the size needed
to effectively treat a community’s wastewater, the
cost of the polymeric matrix becomes prohibitive
(Laliberté et al. 1994). Nevertheless, research on im-
mobilized algae for wastewater treatment is in a very
early stage. It seems likely that the search for inex-
pensive polymers will ultimately be successful. With
future research on the sustainability of the cultures
and the frequency of harvesting needed to avoid sat-
uration and effectively remove the sequestered nu-
trients, the potential of this technique for practical
wastewater treatment may be realized.
Another approach that obviates the harvesting
problem associated with HRAPs is the use of algae
attached to surfaces as periphyton biofilms. The di-
versity and seasonal dynamics of the algal commu-
nity that naturally develop on temperate outdoor-
submersed surfaces in conventional wastewater
treatment facilities have been described by Davis et
al. (1990a). Sládečková (1994) also provided a list
of both algal and nonalgal periphyton taxa that
grow in wastewater. The algal genera most common-
ly reported in such communities are Oscillatoria,
Phormidium, Lyngbya, Navicula, Nitzschia, Oedogonium,
Scenedesmus, and Stigeoclonium. Davis et al. (1990b)
also determined that seasonal production and nu-
trient removal potential of these periphyton com-
munities was comparable to suspended algal sys-
tems.
One of the first reports on the use of attached
algae for removing nutrients from sewage was by
Bush et al. (1963). They reported maximum remov-
al of 76% for phosphorus and nearly 100% for ni-
trogen in the effluent from an elongated raceway
pond in which the algae were attached to the lining.
Hemens and Mason (1968) evaluated wastewater
tertiary treatment using an outdoor shallow stream.
Their system included a 3 km long by 50 cm wide
slow- flowing channel in which microalgae had set-
tled to the bottom. They reported .90% nitrogen
and phosphate removal during the warmer months,
brought about by volatilization and precipitation, re-
spectively, with lower removal efficiencies during the
colder months. The effectiveness of their system was
directly dependent on the elevated pH of the waste-
water that is mediated by algal photosynthesis. Tor-
pey et al. (1971) and Jackson and Jackson (1972)
described the use of periphyton on illuminated ro-
tating discs partially submersed in wastewater tanks.
A complex community of unicellular and filamen-
tous algae, bacteria, protozoa, and metazoans devel-
oped on the disks. Jackson and Jackson (1972) con-
ducted a 29-day experiment with an initial waste-
water phosphorus concentration of 12 mg·L21. A
comparison of 32P-PO4 activity in the periphyton and
plankton communities, when normalized per unit
weight and time, consistently showed periphyton
had higher average uptake rates. Furthermore, the
tanks with periphyton and plankton had a maxi-
mum soluble phosphorus reduction of 98% at the
end of the experiment compared to 17% for the
tanks with only plankton. More recently, a novel ap-
proach of exposing wastewater to algae grown on a
rotating disk followed by a denitrification bed was
shown to remove 90% of the nitrogen from the
wastewater (Przytocka-Jusiak et al. 1984). In this two-
step process, the algae provided a replacement for
methanol as the carbon source for the denitrifying
bacteria.
Sládečková et al. (1983) and Vymazal (1988) dem-
onstrated the feasibility of using artificial streams
(fitted with nylon screens to support extensive pe-
riphyton communities) to remove nutrients from
polluted waters. Cook et al. (1986) and Morris et al.
(1988) established the feasibility of using a periphy-
tic algal system to remove nutrients from wastewater
under light and temperature conditions comparable
to winter in a northern climate. More recently, Adey
and coworkers have used an attached algal system,
known as an algal turf scrubber (ATSy), for the
treatment of agricultural run-off and domestic
wastewater (Adey et al. 1993, Craggs et al. 1996a, b).
The ATSy was developed for maintaining the water
quality of aquaria and is described in detail in Adey
and Loveland (1991). These studies have consis-
tently shown peak periphyton production in the
range of 25 to 35 g dry weight·m22·day21, which is
comparable to peak production typically reported
for HRAPs. However, unlike in HRAPs, the algae
can be harvested by simple mechanical means.
Diurnal shifts in pH of two or more units have
been observed in wastewater streams containing al-
gal periphyton (Bush et al. 1963, Hemens and Ma-
son 1968, Morris et al. 1988, Craggs et al. 1996a, b).
This is comparable to that reported above for
HRAPs. The pH-dependent, calcium-phosphate pre-
cipitation that can occur in HRAPs also seems to
occur in these wastewater streams. Craggs et
al.(1996b) suggested that the high mean phospho-
rus concentration of the periphyton harvest (2.1%
of the dry weight) was a result of the incorporation
of a phosphate precipitate into the biofilm. Work by
House et al. (1989) showed that coprecipitation of
phosphate with calcium occurs in natural streams
due to elevated pH brought about by algal photo-
synthesis. Elevated pH within algal biofilms may also
contribute to precipitation of metals (Bender et al.
1994, Liehr et al. 1994).
The complex interactions among carbon, light,
and pH in algal biofilms has been extensively inves-
tigated and modeled (Liehr et al. 1988, 1989, 1990,
Flora et al. 1995). The modeling results have made
clear the importance of the steep concentration gra-
dient and boundary layer in driving diurnal pH
swings in these biphasic systems. Kuenen et al.
 WASTEWATER TREATMENT WITH ALGAE
(1986) used microelectrodes to measure the O2 and
pH isopleths of an algal biofilm on a trickling filter
at a sewage treatment plant. Their empirical work,
which is consistent with the modeling efforts men-
tioned above, demonstrated a 100–500 mm thick dif-
fusive boundary layer in the water above the biofilm
and also revealed the rapid dynamics that occurred
during the transition from dark to light when pH
was observed to increase from 8.1 to 9.7 over a 25-
min period. Furthermore, their results, along with
the results of Kugaprasatham et al. (1992), empha-
sized the need for sufficient current velocity and tur-
bulence to ensure adequate nutrient flux into the
biofilms of wastewater systems.
Given the comparable performance of attached
algal systems to HRAPs and the obvious ease of har-
vesting, it would seem that periphytic systems would
be superior for algal-based wastewater treatment.
However, most investigations have been at the lab-
oratory scale and only two wastewater studies have
been done at a pilot scale over an annual cycle (He-
mens and Mason 1968, Craggs et al. 1996a, b). Re-
searchers have much less experience with periphytic
systems than with HRAPs. The long-term sustaina-
bility of treatment efficiency of periphytic systems
has not been established. In particular, the potential
effect of grazers has not been investigated. Both
Cook et al. (1986) and Craggs et al. (1996b) re-
ported substantial decreases in areal-specific algal
production due to grazing by chironomid larvae.
Craggs et al. (1996b) were forced to temporarily dry
out their system to eliminate the larvae and then
reinoculate with algae in order to restore treatment
efficiency. The economic issue of land cost and
availability discussed above with regard to HRAPs
would also apply to periphytic treatment systems.
These concerns aside, the use of attached algae
for wastewater treatment is likely to receive in-
creased attention. In addition to the promise of an
economically acceptable solution to the algal harvest
problem, there is an increasing interest in the im-
portance of biofilms in wastewater treatment
(Huang et al. 1992) and in microbiology in general
(Potera 1996). Furthermore, there is an increasing
awareness of the potential for superior treatment in
systems that incorporate steep gradients and high
exchange rates (Todd and Josephson 1996, Man-
kiewicz 1997), conditions that are intrinsic to algal
biofilms.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The use of living organisms to reduce human im-
pact on our environment has been referred to as
environmental biotechnology (Frederick and Egan
1994). The long history of research on algal-based
wastewater treatment systems that spans more than
four decades attests to the real contribution that al-
gae can make to environmental biotechnology to
better manage our freshwater ecosystems. Future re-
search will likely focus more intensely on attached
761
systems to close the gap in our understanding of
nonsuspended versus suspended algal systems. For
both systems, it is likely that a more integrated ap-
proach in the context of ecological engineering at
the ecosystem level will be emphasized. The work by
Drenner et al. (1997) on a periphyton–fish treat-
ment system is a recent example of this approach.
The fundamental principles of the ecological design
of these living technologies for wastewater treatment
have recently been summarized by Todd and Jo-
sephson (1996) and underlie the applications de-
scribed by Guterstam (1990) and Teal and Peterson
(1991).
The practical goal of species control in these hy-
pereutrophic culture systems also may present a
unique opportunity to community ecologists who
study assembly rules. The low algal diversity in these
systems would seem to imply fewer interactions and
since the investigator has a greater ability to control
and manipulate these cultures than natural systems,
the mechanisms leading to dominance may be more
tractable.
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762 JAMES P. HOFFMANN
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