Advances in Chlorella microalgae for sustainable wastewater treatment and bioproduction

• Using wastewater for Chlorella cultivation sustainably alternates fresh water usage. • Chlorella genus robustly removes various pollutants from wastewater up to 100 %. • Chlorella possesses great circular bio-economy potential for resource recovery. • Employing AI and ML enhances microalgal phycoremediation and bioproduction. The rising demand for effective and sustainable wastewater treatment strategies initiated a growing interest in treating wastewater with microalgal-based processes, especially Chlorella microalgae. Phycoremediation has been confirmed to be a highly effective method to efficiently remove numerous pollutants from wastewater, including industrial, municipal, household, and agricultural wastewater. This review discusses the dual role of Chlorella in both wastewater treatment and bioproduction, focusing on recent studies between 2019 and 2024. It emphasizes the ability of its different species to efficiently remediate various pollutants and the conversion of their biomass into a variety of valuable products, contributing to the circular bioeconomy. Furthermore, this review highlights the crucial role of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in optimizing various conditions and parameters to enhance the phycoremediation and production processes to achieve greater cost-effectiveness. Ongoing research efforts aim to improve microalgae properties through synthetic biology, link them with other microorganisms, and incorporate cutting-edge technologies. These initiatives seek to accelerate the commercialization of microalgae for wastewater bioremediation and bioproduction, thereby contributing to a more sustainable future.